Life's New Step
by Lemonade Ninja
Summary: Elizabeth, now 22, is returning home from Europe with a secret to tell her family - she's getting married! But when an old acquintance from high school returns to town, will she still marry or will she recognize old feelings? Sequel to HD and DF. ON HOLD.
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Twilight.

**Summary: **After being away from her family for four months while in Italy, France, and Greece, Elizabeth Cullen, now 21, is returning home to Forks, Washington. But she has a little secret with her that she can't wait to tell her family - she's getting married! Now Bella and Edward, her parents, are faced with the difficult realization that their little girl is growing up. And when an old friend of Elizabeth's shows back up in town, will her relationship with her fiance stay strong or will she recognize old feelings?

**Author's Note:** _I'M BACK! And I am suuuuuuper sorry for delaying the post of this story. I finally managed to write the outline for the first four chapters, so I'll be writing them soon. To make up for it, I'm posting the first chapter along with this prologue, so hopefully that will soften any hard feelings that may have developed. Anyway, please read and review! And Enjoy!_

**Prologue**

_**Elizabeth Cullen**_

"God, Leah, isn't it so great to be back in America? Can you believe it's been only four months since we left for Italy?"

I leaned back in my seat, sighing contentedly. I had been gone for four months, traveling around Italy, Greece, and France for my art and photography class, and I was ready to be back in America. I looked out the window and saw the Rocky Mountains.

Next to me, Leah smiled, rolled her eyes and sighed, continuing to flip through the InTouch magazine in her hands. "You've been saying that ever since we landed in Florida."

I smiled sheepishly. "I'm just excited, that's all. I've missed my family so much."

"Well, you only have a few more hours before we get to Washington. How do you think you're going to tell them?" Leah asked, motioning to my left hand.

I smiled. "I don't know. But I hope they'll be excited."

Again, Leah rolled her eyes and said, "They'll be happy for you. I'm pretty sure Alice will be happy." 

I laughed. "Yeah, I'm sure they'll all be happy for me. But who I'm worried about is my parents. You know how my dad is when it comes to me and the word 'guy' or 'boy' all in the same room. He's been like that ever since I was born. I just hope they won't react too badly."

I twisted the ring around my finger. It was a simple engagement ring, nothing too fancy. The ring was silver, and there was a single solitaire diamond sticking out. I thought it was beautiful and perfect, to me at least. He had found it at a flea market just outside of Athens, for about 100 euro's, the day before I left to come back to the states.

Back when I started to become interested in boys, my mom and dad had told me that I should always follow my heart and do what I thought was best. My mom also told me that when I knew when I met the person who I was meant to be with for the rest of my life, I would know it. It was that night in Athens, Greece that I had that feeling.

I smiled to myself and closed my eyes. Even though I had been engaged for all of three days, I knew that this person was the right one for me, and that I loved him with all of my heart, mind, and soul.

A few hours later, the overhead speaker turned on and a female voice said, "_Ladies and gentlemen, we will be landing in Port Angeles in 15 minutes. Please buckle your seatbelts and remain seated until the plane has landed. Thank you_."

I grinned and buckled my seatbelt.

I was almost home.

**Author's Note:**_ Sorry for the shortness, but the first chapter will make up for it. Please read and review on your way out, it will make me write (being homeschooled has its advantages when your homework takes you only an hour)._

_Hope you enjoyed it!_


	2. Home

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Twilight.

**Author's Note:** _See, told ya I'd get the chapter up quickly, didn't I? Lol. Anyway, please read and enjoy! This chapter is dedicated to all of the mothers out there in the world and all that they do for us. Happy Mother's Day!_

**Chapter One: Home**

_**Elizabeth Cullen**_

I smiled as I stepped out of the airport. The weather was cold and rainy, and gray clouds covered the sky. There was a little bit of a breeze, and blew my brown hair from around my shoulders. I smiled; I had missed the weather of Forks, even though the warm climate all throughout Europe that summer was a pleasant change from the rain.

A taxi pulled up to the curb where I was standing and the driver got out of it. "Need a hand?"

I nodded and said, "Yes. Thank you."

The driver, who said his name was Jamal, helped me put my bags in the trunk of the cab, and soon he was driving out of the airport. I told him where I was headed and then sat back in my seat, smiling with contentment as I watched the rain fleck the windows of the taxi cab.

Forty minutes later, we passed the sign that said, "WELCOME TO FORKS, WASHINGTON, population 3,120". I could feel the excitement and joy at the prospect of seeing my family build up in my system, bursting to expose itself. The feeling only heightened as we passed through the town, heading towards my mom's bookshop.

The taxi pulled up in front of the bookshop and stopped. I handed Jamal some money and got out, grabbing my bags from the back of the car. As the taxi drove away, I stood looking at the bookshop for a moment, taking in the feeling. I had missed the bookshop so much. I had worked there during the summers, all through high school.

I took a deep breath, gathered up my bags and entered the shop. Before I did though, I moved my engagement ring over to the other hand. 

"Hello?" I called out. Nobody was in there. "Anyone in here?"

My Mom leaned around the corner of the bookshelf. A smile appeared on her face when she realized it was me. "Elizabeth!" she said, dropping the books that she was holding in her arms and rushing forward to give me a hug. I hugged her back tightly.

"Oh, I missed you!" I said, my smile growing bigger by the minute.

My Mom pulled back and held me at arm's length, looking me up and down as if inspecting me. "You look wonderful!" she exclaimed. "We missed you around here all summer. I was just about to get ready to pick you up from the airport."

I smiled. "Well, I thought I would tell you the wrong time and surprise you."

Mom pulled me back in for another hug. "Well, you definitely surprised me. Come on upstairs."

The apartment upstairs hadn't changed. It was the same level of coziness and feeling. I put my bags on the floor near the couch as mom grabbed the kettle off the stove and filled it with water.

"Do you want some hot chocolate, sweetie?" she asked.

I nodded my head vigorously. "Yes, please," I said. I grabbed the hot chocolate from the top of the fridge and then sat down to put into the mugs.

"So, you must tell me all about Europe. Did you like it?" my Mom asked as she sat down across from me at the table.

A shy smile crept up on my face, and I said, "I _loved_ it. It was _so_ amazing. When were in Paris … absolutely amazing. I can so see why dad took you there for your honeymoon. It's so … romantic." I smiled. "The lights at night are so beautiful."

Mom nodded her head in agreement. "They are. Did you get any pictures?" Mom asked.

I nodded, and I was pretty sure I was getting a dreamy look on my face; I was absolutely in love with photography. "I got so many pictures and sketches."

The water kettle began whistling, and I got up to grab it. I brought it over to the table with two spoons. I stirred my hot chocolate and brought the mug up to my nose and took a long whiff. I heaved a heavenly sigh. "American hot chocolate. I've been craving it since I left Italy."

My Mom laughed. "So, how was your flight?"

"Pretty good," I said. "I slept all the way to Florida, but I'm pretty sure the jet lag will catch up to me later."

She laughed again, and said, "Well, I'm sure you'll be able to sleep tonight. Your grandmother is very excited that you're coming home today. She's making your favorite tonight for supper, just so you know. Are you going to be there?" She smiled as she said the last line; she knew that I wouldn't miss it for the world.

I smiled. "Wouldn't miss it for the world, mom. I've missed you guys so much." I took a long drink of my hot chocolate and added, "And American food, especially Esme's homemade cooking."

There was a meow and all of a sudden something gray and furry jumped into my lap and meowed. I looked down.

"Molly!" I said, picking her up in my arms and hugging her to my chest.

Molly was our one and a half year old cat. We had gotten her after Gizmo, the cat that we had had since before my younger brother Nathan was born, died year before. We were all very sad after his death; we had all grown so attached to Gizmo and loved him dearly. And then one day, my dad came home with Molly, who was only six months old at the time. We had all fallen in love with her immediately.

"I missed you," I said, and she meowed back in response.

After, she curled up on my lap and started to snooze.

"So, you look oddly happy," mom commented, raising her eyebrow while smiling a suspicious smile.

I blushed – an embarrassing trait that I had inherited from my mother. "What do mean by that?" I asked cautiously.

She shrugged. "Nothing different; you've always been a happy person. But, it's like you have a secret that you brought back with you from Europe. Is there something that you never told us over the phone?"

"Well … I do have some news," I said, smiling shyly. Under the table, I twisted my engagement ring around my finger. "And you'll find out that news at supper tonight."

~~0~~

_**Nathan Cullen**_

Algebra 1.

My last – and possibly the worst – class of the day.

I had five minutes left. Then I was free. I could make it through the last five minutes of Mr. Boone – the Algebra teacher – droning on about the quadratic formula. _I am never going to pass this class_, I mentally groaned to myself. _And it will all be the quadratic formula's fault_.

Math and history weren't my strong points, but English and all the other required subjects for junior year were easy. Gym, especially, was super fun. Thankfully, I didn't take after my mother, who was a klutz and perfectly accident-prone (my older sister, Elizabeth, inherited that). I did, however, take after my dad. I had inherited lanky build, crooked smile, messy, bronze hair, and tall figure (I was only sixteen and I was 5 foot 8 inches, already leaning on 5 foot 9 inches).

_Bri-i-ng!_

Finally! The bell had rung!

I could barely contain my joy as I stuffed my Algebra book and notebook into my book bag as Mr. Boone shouted over the noise of chattering students, "Please do problem set 1 and read through chapter 2 for homework, both due for Monday!"

I headed out of the classroom, glad to be free from the confines of the room. I went down the hallway towards my locker, and was grabbing books that I needed from it when I heard my name being called.

"Hey, Nathan!"

I turned around. My best friend, Zeke Nixon, was coming through the crowd of students. "Hey, Zeke!" I said as he approached me.

"So what did you think of Mr. Boone? I have him first period for Algebra 1. I have a feeling that I'm not going on to the twelfth grade," he said, putting in the combination to the lock on his locker.

"I thought I was going to die in there," I said. "I did not understand one thing that man was saying. Who uses the quadratic formula out in the real world anyway? Maybe I can get my sister to help with math." Elizabeth had enjoyed Algebra 1 when she was in high school, and had understood it and was very good at it, so maybe she would help me.

"You're lucky that you have a sibling that understands math. All I have is a six year old sister who can't even times 6 by 8 yet," Zeke said, and I laughed as we walked away from the lockers.

Outside the air was chilly, and it was a couple of drops here and there. It felt nice to be outside in the fresh air. I spread out my arms wide, leaned my head back, and breathed in a deep breath. "Freedom!"

Zeke slapped me in the chest with the back of his hand all of a sudden, saying, "Dude, look. There's Mackenzie."

I immediately let my arms fall down to my sides and stood up straight. "Where?"

Zeke pointed and I followed his point. And I saw her.

Mackenzie Serra, the girl I had had a crush on since middle school. The reason why I had a crush on her? She was beautiful, shy, and kind. She beautiful light brown hair that was thin and straight. She was perfectly smart, got good grades, and never got into trouble. She wore lawyer type glasses that fit her face perfectly. Her beautiful blue eyes large and round.

The best thing about her was that she wasn't into gossip, and wasn't like those girls who gossip about other people, lie, or backstab their friends. She was normal.

Absolutely normal.

And perfect….

I snapped out of my reverie as she walked by. I waved at her. She seemed to notice it and gave me a small smile, then continued walking on.

"She waved at me," I murmured weakly, staring after her. I was pretty sure that there was a goofy smile on my face. Zeke rolled his eyes and laughed.

All of a sudden, a very familiar voice called my name. "Nathan!"

My eyes went to the origin of the voice and I grinned when I saw who it was. It was my sister, Elizabeth, leaning against the side of her small blue pick-up truck.

"Hey, Zeke, I'll catch you later, dude," I said, punching his shoulder lightly and then running over to my sister.

Elizabeth was grinning as I approached, and she said, "Hi, little brother!" She pulled me into a big hug and hugged me tight for a few seconds. Then she held me at arm's length, looking me up and down. "What did you do, grow ten inches over the summer while I was gone? Man! You're tall!"

I laughed. "Well, I didn't grow ten inches but I did grow about five. I spurted up all through the month of July. Oh, and happy birthday!"

"Why thank you, Nate," Elizabeth laughed, rustling up my already messy hair. "So, how about a ride home? I doubt you'd want to walk in the rain."

It was true – I didn't want to walk home in what was now beginning-to-pour rain.

As we were driving down the road, Elizabeth said, "Listen, Nathan, I have something to tell the family tonight at supper, and I wanted you to know first. I really need you to keep this a secret, so you can't tell anybody."

"Even Mom and Dad?" I asked, grabbing my water bottle and taking a chug from it.

"Especially Mom and Dad," she said. "I'm getting married."

I choked on the water and spat it out. "What?!"

"I'm getting married," she repeated.

I looked at her. "Wow. You're getting married! Congratulations, sis."

All of my life, or ever since I learned that Elizabeth had started dating, I had sworn to myself that I wouldn't be happy, because my favorite and only sister would get married some day. And here I was, actually happy for her!

She smiled a large smile at me. "Thank you, Nathan. At least somebody living under the roof of our house is gonna be happy."

I grinned. "Now all you have to do is tell Mom and Dad. And no, I won't tell them for you."

**Author's Note: **_What'd you think? Who liked the Nathan's POV?? Please read and review and tell me what you think, and I'll post quicker. It took me a lot of the afternoon to write this chapter. The next chapter will be up soon, so no worries. _

_Happy Mother's Day! Until Next Time: Lemonade Ninja_

_P.S. Who liked the New Moon Movie??? I personally loved it!_


	3. Surprise!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Twilight. I just own this amazingly delicious chocolate pudding that I am currently eating.

**Author's Note:** _Well, here's chapter two. Enjoy!_

**Chapter Two: Surprise!**

_**Elizabeth Cullen**_

The clock on my dashboard told me that it was six-thirty-five when I pulled my blue pick-up truck, Old Major, into my grandparent's driveway and into the clearing in front of their house. I saw my dad's silver Volvo, my aunt Alice's yellow Porsche, and my uncle Emmett's red jeep, so I knew that everybody was there.

For a moment, though, without turning the engine off, I sat, just taking in the sight of the beautiful white mansion in front of me.

I had missed this place. I had so many good memories here.

Turning the engine off and pulling my keys from the ignition, I grabbed my purse/satchel thing that I had gotten in Verona, Italy from the seat next to me and pulled it over my head, slinging it across my chest.

I grabbed my three photo portfolios (I had made one for each of the countries that I had gone too – Greece, France, and Italy) and the two large sketching pads with my drawings and held them close to my chest as I stepped out of my truck so that they wouldn't get damaged in the drizzling rain. I had taken the time to draw the sketches and I didn't want to get them ruined just because of the continuous rainy weather in Forks.

Hanging above the front door was a cloth banner that had painted letters on it that spelled out in purple capital letters, "WELCOME HOME, ELIZABETH!" And there were three balloons tied to each railing. I smiled. _Only Alice_.

I stepped inside and leaned my portfolios against the wall on the floor. It was dark in foyer. "Hello?" I called out.

Nobody answered, so I headed towards the living room. I could tell that it was dark in there as well, as the lights were out, but as soon as I stepped one foot into the room, the lights all of a sudden came on and several voices called out, "SURPRISE!" and then a crash and an "OW!" that I knew came from Emmett, since I recognized his voice.

My eyes squeezed shut at the sudden brightness of the room, but when I opened them a second later, I could see my entire family. They were all grinning broadly, except for Emmett, who was sprawled across the floor, rubbing his knee and head. Apparently he had been hiding behind the couch and when he jumped up he had tripped and fallen over the couch and onto the floor.

And then I was bombarded by my family, each one giving me tight hugs and welcoming me back to Forks. The last one to hug me was my Dad. He was grinning broadly and I all but threw my arms around him and breathed in his heavenly doctor smell that I had missed so much.

"You didn't change a bit when you were in Europe," he said as I pulled away from him. "I can't believe you're twenty-two already!"

I blushed. I had inherited my Mom's small, slender stature, and I was about 5 feet 5 inches, and hadn't grown since my freshman year of high school. I didn't mind, though. I had gotten her hair as well, and her facial features, but her eyes I didn't have. Sure, they had some brown on the outer rim, but they were mostly green.

I was fifteen years old when I had learned the truth about my father – my real father, that is. I had asked my mother one night why my eyes were a different green than Edward's, my father, and it was then that she told me the truth – about who had kidnapped me when I was six, about why my mother was only eighteen when she got pregnant with me, everything.

I had been confused at first, then angry, at both of my parents. It took me a while, but then I realized that whoever was father, I still loved Edward more than anything in the world. When I learned that he had adopted me legally at his and my mom's wedding, I realized that my bond with my parents was all the stronger than it had been.

"Thanks, Dad," I said. "You guys haven't changed much, either."

And it was true: none of them had changed. My aunt Alice was still the same height as she had been my entire life – 5 feet exactly. My uncle Jasper had not lost his blonde hair and his southern accent still had a charming effect. My other uncle, Emmett, still had his muscles. My aunt, Rosalie, was still as beautiful as she had been. Her blonde hair was long and wavy.

My grandparents had changed, but not by much. Now that they were in their sixties, flecks of gray were beginning to appear in their hair. My grandma still had her sweet, motherly face, and my grandfather still had his calm nature about him.

And then there were my cousins. Sally, who was Alice and Jasper's twelve and a half year old daughter, had the same quirkiness and black hair as her mother and her father's stormy blue eyes. She had gotten fashion sense from Alice, and was forever commenting on clothes.

Angelina, who was seventeen and a senior in high school, and Lillian, who was 13, were Rosalie and Emmett's two daughters. Both Angelina and Lillian had blonde hair and were absolutely beautiful like their mother. Angelina was a bit of a stubborn girl, a trait which she had gotten from Rosalie, but she was very nice and compassionate. Lillian was like Emmett, always cracking jokes and the like, but very smart.

There were reasons why I loved my family a lot – they were kind, compassionate, and we loved each other more than anything in the world.

~~0~~

Supper was delicious. Grandma had made my all-time favorite meal – spaghetti and meatballs and garlic bread. It felt so good to eat American food again. I had gotten spaghetti and meatballs one night for dinner when we were in Italy, and it was really good, but it wasn't the same as Grandma's homemade sauce.

My whole family was curious to learn about my trip to Europe, especially my aunts and uncles. I was asked question after question, all ranging anywhere from what types of places me and my class stayed at to what the bathrooms were like (that question was thanks to Emmett. Rosalie slapped him up the backside of his head for that while my dad and uncle Jasper snickered, almost choking on their food).

"What was the food like over there?" Nathan asked as he stuffed a large bite of garlic bread into his mouth. "Did you try any interesting food?"

I nodded. "At each place we went to, Leah and I made it our mission to try and find one food that we couldn't pronounce and try it."

"Were you successful?" Jasper asked.

"Oh, yeah, we were successful," I said, laughing. "We've once ordered _escargot_ when we were at this restaurant in Paris. We didn't know what it was and when the waitress brought it to us, we took one bite and we nearly spit it back out, because the taste of it was absolutely nasty. We decided that we're never going to eat snails again."

"What about in Italy?" asked Alice.

I had to think about that one for a second. "Calamari."

"And what's that?" Mom asked.

"Raw squid," I said, plainly and simply.

"Eww," was the murmured reaction that came from Sally, Angelina, and Lillian.

After supper, we went into the living room. We decided to wait a while to eat desert and look through my sketches and drawing and pictures. So, before I followed everybody into the living room, I grabbed the portfolios and large sketch pads from the foyer.

"Oh, Elizabeth, these photographs are magnificent," my Mom said as she and Alice looked through the portfolio with the pictures I had taken in France.

We looked through the photos, commenting on about every single one.

Everybody was especially impressed by my sketches of the different buildings I had drawn. I had drawn so many sketches of every building that we went to. I had drawn the Eifel Tower, the Parthenon, the Notre Dame, the Colosseum, all of the ancient structures and buildings one could think of. I had even drawn the ceiling of my room in one of the hotels we had stayed in because I was mesmerized by the intricate art detail of it.

"It looks like you went to a lot of places," Lillian said as she and Sally looked through the Italy portfolio.

I nodded. "We did. And I have never seen such beautiful country side before."

"Did you see the Trevi Fountain?" Carlisle asked.

I nodded. "It was amazing."

For the next hour we looked through the portfolios, so that everybody could see all of the photos and sketches.

As I was zipping everything back up, Esme announced that it was time for dessert. She and Mom disappeared into the kitchen and reappeared a moment later with a round, two-layer cake with vanilla frosting. On it, in purple icing, my grandmother had written "Happy 22nd Birthday Elizabeth!", and there were twenty-two lit candles around the edge of it.

Much to my embarrassment that brought a bright blush to my cheeks, the whole family sung 'Happy Birthday'. After they finished, Mom said, "Make a wish, sweetie."

I closed my eyes and thought hard. I smiled and opened my eyes when I thought of one, took a deep breath and blew out the candles.

As we were eating the cake and talking amongst ourselves, I felt my hand move to my engagement ring that I had put on the chain of my necklace that my parents had given me when I was eleven (it was a silver chain necklace with a silver flower). I smiled slightly to myself as I fingered it.

It was time to tell my family.

God knows how they'd react, but I had to tell them.

Nathan, who was sitting next to me on the couch, leaned his head over and whispered into my ear, "You should probably tell them now."

I nodded and set my plate down on the coffee table.

"Hey, everybody," I said, catching everybody's attention. "Um, I have something to tell you. A, uh, a little announcement."

"What is it?" Mom asked.

"Uh, well … I don't really know how to say it, but … I'm getting married," I said, a small smile growing on my face as I looked at everybody's face to gauge their reactions.

Everybody mainly looked a little shocked.

"Surprise!" I said.

"You're getting married?" my Mom and aunt Alice asked simultaneously.

I nodded.

"When did this happen?" Emmett asked.

"Yeah, and who's the guy?" Sally asked. "Is he cute?"

"Do we know him?" Angelina asked.

"Well, it happened three days ago, the night before we left Athens" – "you got proposed to in _Athens?!_ That's _so_ romantic" – "His name is Ethan Barr, and I'm not sure if all of you have met him. I know mom and dad have, though."

Looking confused, Dad asked, "We have?"

I nodded. "Yeah, you guys did. It was when you dropped me off at college my freshman year. He transferred right after, the start of the school year, so I never saw him again. But then I saw him again when we got to Italy in June and, well, we started going out, and we sort of fell in love."

Alice and Rosalie and my Mom had a dreamy look in their eyes as I said this. "That is so romantic!" Alice said. "And getting proposed to in Athens? Best place to get proposed to, besides Paris."

Emmett, Jasper, and Dad rolled their eyes.

"So where's he from?" Grandma Esme asked.

"He lives in Washington, actually, in Port Angeles. He's in the architecture field, like I am," I said.

"How old is he?" Alice asked.

"Twenty-three," I said.

"How come you never told us about him in your letters and e-mails?" Mom asked.

"Well," I said, "I was planning on telling you before we left, but then he proposed so I figured that I should just wait until I was back in Forks and everybody was together."

The whole family was smiling now – I guess they were happy, now that the shock of my news had worn off.

"Are you sure you really want this?" my Dad asked, looking at me straight in the eyes.

I looked back at him, for a few seconds, and then nodded. "I do, daddy. I love him."

My Dad smiled then, and said, "Well, I guess there's only one thing left to say. Congratulations, Lizzy."

My smile broadened and got up from my seat on the couch and went to go give him a hug as he stood up.

When I pulled back, I said, "Thank you, daddy. I love you."

"I love you, too."

And then Alice, being the crazy aunt that she is, squealed, "Can I help with the wedding?"

**Author's Note:** _Well, what'd you think? What'd you think of everybody's reactions? Sorry that the greeting of Elizabeth wasn't fully detailed. I hide whenever there's family gatherings, so I can't write from personal experience. And I've never been engaged, so I hope everybody's reactions were okay. The next chapter should be up soon hopefully. Next chapter, we'll be meeting Elizabeth's fiancee, Ethan, over lunch with Bella and Edward. _

_Also, thank you SO MUCH to everybody who story alerted and favorited this story. I woke up on Monday morning and saw 28 messages in my inbox. I was really happy! PLEASE review on your way out, it will make me write and get out chapter three faster. _

_Until Next Time, Eat Chocolate Pudding. Lemonade Ninja._


	4. Meeting the Fiancee

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Twilight.

**Author's Note:** _Sorry about the delay, but I finally posted! I was trying to figure out what to write during the dinner scene, so I hope you all will find it to your enjoyment, and I hope you all like Ethan. Please read and review on your way out!_

**Chapter Three: Meeting the Fiancée**

_**Elizabeth Cullen**_

I woke up the next morning, and lay in bed for a moment, taking in the sight of my room.

My room hadn't changed much – except for the fact that I had a desk, a different dresser than I had when I was a baby up until I was 6, and I had painted my walls light green and had changed my light pink see through curtains to royal blue (Dad's favorite color) curtains. I still had my mother's old rocking chair that she rocked me in when I was a baby; it was the rocking chair that Grandma Renee had rocked my Mom in when she was a baby and had sat in Mom's old bedroom at Grandpa Charlie's house.

Rain was softly spattering against my window. I glanced at my alarm clock. 7:38 a.m. it read.

Yawning, I pulled myself out of bed and headed out of my room. I wandered down to Nathan's room, and quietly opened the door. I nearly giggled out loud at the sight in front of me – my brother was sprawled across his bed on his back, mouth open, snoring. Molly was at the foot of the bed, snoozing.

I shook my head and closed the door.

Opening the door to my parent's bedroom, I saw a similar sight. My parents were sleeping as well, though not sprawled out like my brother. Dad was on his back, though, with his arm around Mom, who was sleeping next to him. Her head was on Dad's shoulder and her arm slung across his chest.

I smiled, remembering those Saturday mornings years ago when Nathan and I were younger and we would climb onto the bed and stare at them until they woke up so we could eat breakfast. I softly closed the door and headed into the kitchen.

Quietly, I opened the side kitchen door and headed down the stairs to the driveway below. I picked up the paper, and headed back up to the apartment, poured myself a glass of orange juice and sat down at the table.

Just as I was finishing the comic section, about quarter past eight, I heard a door open and then close and my Dad appeared.

"Hi, Dad," I said.

"Morning, lady bug. How long have you been up?" he asked as he sat down across from me at the table.

Rolling my eyes at my Dad's old nickname for me, I said, "Not very long. Want some of the paper?"

He nodded and grabbed the sports.

We sat in comfortable silence for a few moments, him reading the sports and I reading the arts section. And then Dad said, "So, Lizzy. I, uh, I wanted to talk to you about something."

I looked up. "What about?"

"Eh, well, I know you're twenty-two and a legal adult and everything, and I know that you're old enough to make decisions on your own now. But I just want to know if this guy … whoever he is –"

"Ethan," I said. "His name's Ethan Barr."

" … Ethan – whether or not he'll make you happy," he finished.

I smiled. "You're obviously having trouble coming to terms that your only daughter is getting married, aren't you?" I asked.

Dad chuckled, nodded his head. I laughed softly along with him.

"You don't have to worry about me, Dad. He'll make me happy. I know he will," I said.

"Elizabeth, I just want you to know that your mother and I love you very much, and we just want what's best for you at the same time of letting you choose the steps in life that _you_ know will make you happy," said Dad. "And just know that we'll support you in whatever you choose, even though I still think you're a little young to be getting married."

I laughed. "Thanks, Dad," I said. "I love you guys, too."

With our little heart-to-heart conversation over, we went back to reading the newspaper.

Mom came out a few minutes later. She kissed the top of my head, said, "Good morning, sweetie" and asked if we wanted some breakfast. As the aroma of blueberry pancakes and warm maple sugar filled the kitchen, Nathan appeared, yawning and scratching the back of his head.

"I smell pancakes," he said.

I laughed. My younger brother's appetite could sometimes – well, okay, all of the time – rival Uncle Emmett's. It was amazing how he managed to stay the skinny way that he was with all the food that he ate, but I guess that he could have gotten it from Dad, who was just as tall and lanky as Nathan was. Leah – with whom I had become best friends with after my childhood friend, Alex, had moved away to somewhere in Alaska when I was eight – and I used to always be jealous of the fact that we couldn't eat half a pizza without gaining a few pounds.

While we were eating breakfast, I said, "Uh, Ethan was wondering if we could have dinner tonight so that you guys could meet him, seeing as you guys have only met him once."

"Sure," Mom said. "I'd love to meet him."

"So would I," Dad said. "I'd love to ask him a few questions."

"Me, three," Nathan said, stuffing a several cut up pieces of pancake smothered in syrup into his mouth.

~~0~~

_**Edward Cullen**_

I couldn't believe my ears when Elizabeth had announced that she was getting married. I had spent a good fifteen minutes ranting to Bella that night, saying she was too young to be getting married. She had only rolled her eyes and kissed me, saying that I was overreacting (a normal thing that any father would do when his oldest and only daughter was getting married).

I had spent the whole night turning her words over in my mind. _I'm getting married. I'm getting married_.

Just because I had said that Bella and I would support our daughter in her decision to get married, it didn't mean that I had come to terms with that fact.

Every father is sad when their daughter tells them that they're getting married, and I was just one of them. I was 100 percent certain that Bella was feeling the same way, even though she didn't mention it. In fact, I think she's excited for Elizabeth.

And now, in just a few short minutes, we would be meeting our daughter's future husband, and I planned on asking him the same question that all fathers ask – what are your intentions with my daughter. I mean, I had never met the guy. Well, okay, we had supposedly met the guy when we dropped Elizabeth off at college her freshman year, but we didn't know anything about the guy except that he was twenty-three and in the architectural field like Elizabeth.

I didn't know what he looked like, what he was interested in, or even if he was a nice guy. I turned these thoughts over in my mind that evening as Bella, Nathan, and I waited in the Italian restaurant in Port Angeles for Elizabeth and her fiancée to arrive.

Bella placed her hand on my hand and said, "Relax, Edward. I'm sure he's not that bad."

I gave her a look. "Bella, we have no clue about this guy. What if he's an axe murderer in disguise, and is waiting until their honeymoon to kill Elizabeth?" I paused and added, "With an axe?"

"That'd be interesting," Nathan quipped.

Bella gave our son a stern look and then turned to look at me. "Edward, you're overreacting. I'm sure he is a perfectly nice guy. Just give him a chance. If you don't like him, just smile and pretend you do."

"They're here," Nathan said, waving his arm up in the air to get Elizabeth's attention.

I looked up to see Elizabeth enter the restaurant with a guy that I assumed was Ethan next to her, holding her hand. I guess one would consider Ethan a reasonably good looking guy. Alice and Rosalie would probably rate him a 9 on a scale of 1 to 10 with ten being the best looking. He was tall, not lean or chubby. He had black hair and sort of a Spanish look about him. He kind of reminded me of that Prince Caspian fellow from the Chronicles of Narnia, Ben Barnes, only Ethan had short hair. He was wearing formal clothes – white shirt, black tie, and black pants.

Elizabeth saw Nathan's arm waving, said something to Ethan, and led him over to our table, her hand still entwined in his hand. As we stood up to greet them, she said, with a wide smile on her face, "Mom, Dad, Nathan, this is my fiancée, Ethan. This is my Mom, Bella –"

"It's nice to meet you," Ethan said, extending his hand out to shake with Bella's. I noticed the Spanish accent in his voice as he talked.

She took his offered hand and shook it, saying, "And you."

" – my Dad, Edward –"

He held out his hand to me and I shook it as he said, "It's a pleasure to meet you, sir."

"You as well," I said. _Okay, so I guess he's polite_, I thought.

" – and my younger brother, Nathan," Elizabeth finished.

Nathan extended his fist, saying, "Whassup?"

Elizabeth gave him a look, and he quickly flattened out his hand for Ethan to shake and said, "It's nice to meet you."

Ethan shook his hand and said, "It's nice to meet you, too. Your sister talked about all of you a lot while we were in Europe."

Pretty soon, we were all sitting down, looking through our menus. After the waitress – Mitch – took our orders and we were digging into the two basket of breadsticks that had been placed on the table, Bella asked, as she tore off a piece of breadstick, "So Ethan, have you always lived in Port Angeles?"

"Ah, no," Ethan said. "I was originally born in Spain, as you can probably tell from the accent in my voice, and I lived there until I was about maybe 16. That's when my parents and I moved here to Port Angeles."

"If you were born in Spain, how come you have an American name?" Nathan asked.

"I have American parents. They both moved to Spain when they graduated college, and they met there, fell in love and got married," he said.

Elizabeth was smiling at Ethan as he was saying this. "I think falling in love in a European country is such a romantic thing."

The food came just then. As we began eating our food, I asked, "So, uh, how did you two meet?"

"Yeah, how did you fall in love?" Nathan asked.

Ethan and Elizabeth smiled widely at each other. Ethan grabbed her hand as Elizabeth began laughing and said, "Well, we actually met for the first time when you guys dropped me off at my dorm. He was one of the guys who were helping students bring their stuff to their dorms. It was too bad that he transferred. He was so sweet and charming. Remember that, Mom?"

"Yes, I do, actually," she said. "You were very sweet and charming."

"Thank you, Mrs. Cullen," he said.

"Oh, please, call me Bella," she said. "Where did you transfer to?"

"Uh, UCLA," he replied.

"How'd you meet for the second time?" Nathan asked.

Elizabeth suddenly blushed a deep, deep red. Ethan laughed as he said, "Want to tell them how we met for the second time, baby?"

I internally cringed. _He called her baby! Okay, he is gonna go down!_

"God, do I have to?" she blushed. "You tell since you find it so amusing."

We looked on intently as Ethan said, "It was the first day we were in Italy. We had been given the day to tour around the city before we started working, and we were at the Trevi fountain." Elizabeth placed her elbows on the table and her face in her hands. "I suddenly recognized Elizabeth, who was standing with her back to the fountain – very close to it, too – getting ready to throw a penny into it. She had her eyes closed so I guess she didn't see me."

Elizabeth blushed a deeper red and Nathan, sensing something immensely funny coming, was looking amused and listening to every word Ethan was saying as he stuffed a large amount of breadstick in his mouth.

"And just as she was throwing the penny into the fountain, I went up to her and said, 'Hi'. She let out a little scream, took a step backward in surprise – which was a very bad thing to do – and fell into the fountain," he said.

Nathan burst out laughing as Elizabeth sat there, blushing.

Bella gasped and put her hand to her mouth, though I could tell that she was trying to hide a smile. Even I was having a hard time keeping a straight, worried looking face, but in the end I gave up and I started laughing with Nathan.

"You fell into the Trevi fountain? Were you alright?" Bella asked.

Elizabeth nodded and said, "I was fine. I was soaking and a little shocked, but I was fine. Ethan only managed to catch my foot." She smiled at Ethan as she looked at him. "After laughing for a few seconds, he helped me out and asked if I was alright. He asked me out the next day and … well … we fell in love. Then the last night we were in Greece, he proposed to me and here we are."

Bella had regained her composure and was smiling at them.

"Well, I'm glad you rescued my daughter, Ethan," she said.

"What were you wishing?" I asked, curious as to what Elizabeth had been wishing when she fell into the fountain.

She blushed. "Oh, I can't … I can't tell you. It's a secret," she said and wouldn't say anything more on that topic.

_**Nathan Cullen**_

Surprisingly enough, I thought this Ethan guy was pretty cool. Dad actually liked him, I think.

After we ate, while we were standing on the boardwalk outside the restaurant, I pulled Ethan aside. I wanted to ask him a couple of questions.

"So, uh, Ethan. Just between us future brothers-in-law, I wanted to ask you what your intentions were with my sister," I said.

"Well, Nate," he began, but I interrupted him.

"Call me Nathan. I hate the nickname Nate," I said. I was like my dad – we both hated the nicknames for our names. My uncles used 'Eddie' for Dad when they were annoying him, and my cousins – especially Sally and Lily – used 'Nate' on me whenever they were annoying me. We both hated it.

"Okay … Nathan, then," Ethan said. "I want you to know that I care about your sister very much."

"And that's a good thing," I said.

"And I would never do anything to hurt her," he said.

"That, too, is a good thing," I said. I turned my head both ways to make sure no one heard me. My sister was talking with our parents out of earshot. "Let me tell you something."

"Okay," he said.

"I loved my sister very much. I would do anything for her. Probably take a bullet for her, but you know what I mean. Anyways, just so you know now, I have two Uncles and a Dad who have taught me how to throw a punch, and if you do anything to hurt my sister in any way, shape, or form, I'll make sure that you get a broken nose. Alright?"

I held out my hand for him to shake.

He looked a little shocked, but said, "Okay."

I smiled and said, "Okay."

Then I turned around and walked back towards my sister and parents.

_My brother role has been complete._

**Author's Note:** _Well, I hope you all liked it. What did you guys think of the little 'father-daughter bonding time' that I put in there? And what did you think of Ethan and they way the two met? _

_Next chapter, we'll be meeting Ethan's parents, Vern and Tilda Barr. I have no idea how long it will be, but I'll try to make it as long as I can. I mean, I've never been engaged before, so I've never had the parents-meet-the-parents lunch thing. I am not sure when it will be out, but I've finished school for the year, so I might be posting a chapter once a week, but I'm not certain. _

_Read and review on your way out, please (it makes me really happy)! Until Next Time, eat ice cream sandwiches and enjoy the warmth! Lemonade Ninja. _


	5. The Barr's

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Twilight. I do, however, own Vern and Tilda Barr.

**Chapter Four: The Barr's**

_**Bella Cullen**_

A couple of days after the dinner with Ethan, I dug around in the closet in Edward's and mine bedroom and pulled out our old family photo albums. I settled down on the couch in the living room and opened the first one.

The first picture – and one of my favorites – was of Edward, Elizabeth and I, taken when she was barely a day old. I was sitting in the hospital bed, holding her warm little body close to mine, smiling at the camera. Edward was sitting in the chair next to the bed, leaning over so his arm could be around my shoulders.

I laughed softly as I saw the gauze on his forehead, remembering the moment when I had seen the gauze….

_Emmett reluctantly handed me Elizabeth and waved as he, Rosalie, and Esme walked out the door._

_That was when I noticed the small square of white gauze on the side of Edward's forehead. "What happened to your forehead, Edward?" I asked._

_Alice and Jasper laughed as Edward turned a deep shade of red. _

"_Apparently, I passed out last night and hit my head on that table," he said pointing to the table beside my bed._

_I laughed quietly, not wanting to wake the little angel that was in my arms. "It was quite funny when you passed out."_

"Hey, Mom."

I looked up to see Elizabeth sitting down on the couch next to me with a bowl of buttered popcorn. I wrapped my arm around her and gave her a hug. "Hi, sweetie."

"What are you looking at?" she asked.

"Old photo albums," I said. I pointed to the picture I was looking at. "You were barely a day old when that photo was taken."

"I was so small," Elizabeth said. Then she laughed and said, "Why is there gauze on Dad's forehead?"

I laughed. "He couldn't handle the contractions I was having and passed out. You would think that he could have been supportive through all the pain that I was suffering at the time, but … he decided to pass out and hit his head on the bedside table instead."

She laughed. "I bet Uncle Emmett and Uncle Jasper teased him mercilessly."

"Oh, yes, they did," I said, laughing. "I found it quite funny when I saw the gauze on his forehead."

We flipped through the pages, laughing at funny photos of the family and eating the popcorn. We came to another one of my favorite pictures – a picture of the four of us when Nathan wasn't even a day old. I was sitting in the hospital bed holding him in my arms. Elizabeth was sitting next to me and Edward was once again sitting in the hospital chair beside the bed, leaning over to wrap his arm around my shoulder.

I looked our faces. All of us – excluding Nathan, who was sleeping – were looking at the camera. I looked exhausted but happy and full of love for the new little baby in my arms. Elizabeth had a look of pure excitement on her face, all the while looking already protective over her baby brother. And Edward had a goofy, crooked grin plastered on his face. I could see the immense love on his face for me, for Elizabeth, for Nathan….

"I love this picture," Elizabeth said.

"I know," I said, nodding in agreement. "It's one of my favorites."

We sat there on the couch, enjoying looking through the albums. It was a relatively quiet late afternoon. Nathan was over at Zeke's house for the afternoon and Edward was at the hospital. They were both due home in about an hour.

"So, Mom, are you excited about meeting Ethan's parent's tomorrow?" Elizabeth asked as we went to the kitchen so I could start cooking supper.

I looked at her. "Honestly?" I asked. She smiled and nodded. "I'm kind of nervous."

Elizabeth giggled. "Well, they're really nice, so you have nothing to be worried about. You'll love them. Trust me. Do you think Dad is excited?"

I shrugged. "I should think so. I mean, what father doesn't want to meet the future in-laws of their daughter?"

~~0~~

"I can't believe that we were roped into having lunch with them," Edward said as we drove through Port Angeles.

I laughed and patted his hand. "It'll be fun. Turn right."

A few minutes later, we pulled up in front of a blue house that was relatively large for a house in Port Angeles. In fact, the house kind of looked like it came straight out of a magazine. The lawn was perfectly tidy, not a twig or a branch in sight, and the bushes that lined the house were clipped to the T. There were – and I have no idea how a person could do it in the rainy weather of the Olympic Peninsula – flowers in flower troughs that lined the railing that ran along the porch.

Edward and I exchanged a glance.

"Did we get the right house?" he asked, grabbing the MapQuest sheets from my hands and looking at the address.

"95 Pimmell Road," I said. "Right there."

Any other person, I'm sure, would take one glance at this house and think, "Oh, that's a lovely house!" I, on the other hand, thought, "Oh, that house looks like it could belong in _The Stepford Wives_!"

We took one last glance at each other, and got out of the car, me grabbing the loaf of my chocolate chip banana bread that I had made earlier that morning. Edward grabbed my hand as we started up the walkway, and I let our hands lay entwined between his pant leg and my brown skirt.

"I hope I dressed okay," I whispered to him as we walked up the steps of the porch.

"You look beautiful. I, on the other hand, hope I chose the right shirt," he whispered back.

I snorted as I rang the doorbell. "You did." I paused before adding, "After you changed it six times."

"This coming from the woman who changed _her_ outfit seven times," he whispered back, and he had my favorite crooked grin on his face, so I knew he was only teasing me.

The door opened and before us stood a short woman in a maids outfit. She had raven black hair and a Spanish look about her. She looked at Edward and I curiously, and said in a deep, deep Spanish accent, "May I help you?"

"Yes, hi, I'm Edward Cullen and this is my wife, Bella. Uh, we're here to meet Vern and Tilda Barr for lunch," Edward said.

The woman looked Edward up and down in a strange manner and then looked at me. I smiled at her. After a few seconds, she said, "Follow me."

She opened the door wider to allow us through and we stepped into a beautiful hallway that had a beautiful marble floor with the fluffiest looking carpet you could imagine on top of it. Hanging on one wall, there was a large mirror that had beautifully ornate gold frame around it. On either side of the door there were two large plants in large ceramic pots.

There was also a bit a spicy smell to the air, almost as if little bags of different spices were hidden around the rooms.

The woman led us into a room off to the side that I assumed was the living room, which was absolutely gorgeous. There were three large, tan leather couches, an expensive looking rug that had an interesting design on it, and more plants.

"Sit," the woman told us and then walked out of the room.

Edward and I looked at each other. "I suppose we should sit," Edward said and I nodded in agreement.

We had only been sitting a moment when two people who I assumed were Ethan's parents entered the room. The woman was about my height, had blonde hair, and wearing clothes that looked too formal for a sit down lunch. The man next to her was a little taller than Edward and he, as well, was wearing too formal clothes – a black suit, complete with a blue tie.

"Welcome to our home! You must be Elizabeth's parents," the woman exclaimed as Edward and I stood up. "I'm Tilda and this is my husband, Vern."

We shook hands with them as I said, "Thank you for having us. I'm Bella and this is my husband, Edward. You have a beautiful house."

"Thank you," Tilda said, looking immensely excited.

And then I remembered the tinfoil-wrapped loaf of chocolate chip banana bread that was in my hands and said, "Oh, here, I made some chocolate chip banana bread for you guys."

Tilda took it, smiling all the wider. "Oh, that's so lovely. Thank you so much!"

_Okay, this lady is beginning to scare me a little_, I thought to myself.

The maid that opened the front door walked into the living room then with a tray that had four glasses with some sort of drink mixture in it. She set it down on the coffee table, and as she straightened up, Tilda said something to her in Spanish.

The woman nodded, taking the chocolate chip banana bread from Tilda's hands, and left the living room.

"Shall we sit?" Vern asked.

As soon as we were comfortable and picking up our glasses with the weird looking drink mixture in it, Tilda said, "Elizabeth has told us so much about you. She speaks lively about you both."

Edward and I looked at each other, smiling and then looked back at Vern and Tilda. "So, you two have met Liz before?" Edward said.

"Oh, yes. She is such a lovely girl, so sweet and charming. We went to Greece for a couple of weeks and met up with Ethan and Elizabeth there. Let me tell you, I was nervous at first meeting the girl my boy was wanting to marry, but boy, let me tell you. I had no idea I was going to meet a girl like that," Vern said, chuckling a little.

"Yeah, she is a very sweet girl," I agreed.

I took a sip of my lemonade and had to hold myself back from spitting it back into the glass. I sneaked a glance over at Edward, who had taken a sip and he had paused as well. Forcing myself to swallow, I said, "This is very interesting drink that you have here." I placed the glass on the coffee table. "Is it some sort of lemonade?"

"Oh, it's not lemonade, dear. It's iced tea with a little bit of spice added to it. My mother always told me that it's good for a person to drink iced tea with spice in it. It helps keep your mind working," Tilda said. "It's also good to put the smell of spice in the air, don't you think?" The question was pointed towards me.

Not really, but whatever. "Absolutely," I said.

"What kind of spices are in here?" Edward asked, pointing to the drink mixture in the glass.

"Oh, only a little bit of Cajun pepper. Clears out your sinuses, let me tell you," Vern said.

After a few seconds silence, Tilda asked, "So what do you two do for a living?"

"Well, I'm a doctor. I work at the Forks General Hospital down in Forks," Edward said. "I work alongside my dad, Carlisle."

"And what about you, Bella?" Tilda asked.

"I own a small bookstore in Forks," I said.

"Oh, that's lovely," Tilda said. "What's the name of the bookstore? I might stop by one of these days to say hello."

The maid came back in and spoke in Spanish to Tilda and then walked back out of the room.

"Well, lunch is served," Tilda said in an all too cheery voice.

Vern and Tilda led us into the dining room, another room that was decorated quite beautifully with a marble bust of some dead person. In the middle of the room stood a beautiful, gleaming, chestnut table with intricately carved legs and odd looking antique chairs around it. This room, too, had the odd smell of spice to it.

Over lunch, Vern and Tilda told us stories about the time that they lived in Madrid. They told us how they met ("It was a very hot, lovely day and we happened to be at the same beach at the same time," said Vern), what their wedding was like ("It was magnificent! Hundreds of people, ornate dresses, beautiful reception…" prattled on Tilda with a dreamy look in her eyes), several stories about Ethan's childhood ("Vern, do you remember that time when he wanted a turtle and we got him one and it got run over by a truck?" Tilda asked. Vern laughed and nodded), etc.

_**Edward Cullen**_

Lunch was interesting.

While Vern and Tilda told us stories from their life, we ate a chicken and rice with bean dish, and it had the strong taste of curry. It kind of shocked Bella's and mine mouths when we took the first bite – our mouths went ablaze as soon it was in our mouths. It was really good, but was too strong in flavor. Not wanting to seem rude, we ate our portion, with the assistance of our glasses of ice cold water.

Vern and Tilda had a … very interesting demeanor about them. They were cheery, and there were permanent smiles plastered on their faces.

It was getting a bit tiring, them laughing so much and Vern keeping on saying "Let me tell you" at the end of every sentence, and the both of them smiling nonstop and I could tell that it was beginning to get to Bella as well.

"So, did Ethan and Elizabeth tell you how they met?" Tilda asked.

Bella took another drink of water and nodded. "Yes. I thought it was so nice of your son to rescue her from the Trevi fountain."

"Have you two ever been to Europe?" Vern asked. "It's a wonderful place, it is."

We both nodded. "I took Bella to Paris for our honeymoon," I said. "We enjoyed it immensely."

"It was gorgeous," Bella nodded in agreement.

Desert was brought in then – normal chocolate cake with chocolate frosting. Surprisingly, and thankfully, there were no spices in the cake.

"So, do you two have any more kids or is Elizabeth an only child?" Tilda asked as we ate dessert.

"Only one – Nathan. He's sixteen," Bella said.

"Oh, that's right. Elizabeth did mention she had a younger brother. He must be as sweet as Elizabeth for being related to her," Tilda said cheerfully.

Bella and I smiled at each other. "He can be sweet when he wants to," Bella said. "He certainly was when he was a baby."

Just as Tilda was about to launch into a story about the time when Ethan was born, my pager went off, and I couldn't have been more grateful. I pulled it out of my pocket and looked at the number on the screen. The hospital was calling.

"Uh, if you'll excuse me a moment, I just have to make a quick call," I said, stuffing the pager back into my pocket.

"Oh, of course," Tilda said, never getting rid of the smile.

"I'll be right back," I said and got up from the table.

It turned out that one of the doctors had called out sick and needed me to come and fill in for them.

The Barr's came outside to stand on the porch to see us off.

"Thank you so much for inviting us for lunch. It was very good," Bella said.

"You're welcome, Bella," Tilda said. "And thank you for the chocolate chip banana bread – you have no idea how much we love it here! We should do this again some time."

As soon as we were out of sight of the Barr's house, Bella let her head fall back on the headrest and said, "Oh. My. God."

"I know," I said, completely agreeing.

"That was … scary!" she said. "Have you ever seen anyone so prim and proper? It reminded me of _The Stepford Wives_! Don't get me wrong, they were really nice, but …."

I laughed and entwined my hand in hers. "Just think, love. They're going to a part of the family soon!"

**Author's Note:** _Well, I hope everybody enjoyed the chapter. I tried to make Vern and Tilda as interesting and annoying as possible, so I hope I did them justice. I'm not particularly thrilled with the chapter, and I apologize if it was a little bit boring to read. _

_Next chapter, Elizabeth and Ethan set a date for the wedding. We'll also be dress shopping for a wedding dress (with the help of Alice, Bella and Rosalie)! And a new character will show up unexpectedly, so I hope you'll read on!_

_Please drop a review on your way out (I'm begging for it) and tell me what you thought of the chapter and who you think is the new character. I'll give a shoutout to the person who guesses the closest! Until Next Time, Lemonade Ninja._


	6. Of Dresses

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Twilight.

**Author's Note:**_ Hello! Hopefully there are still readers here. Sorry for the long delay of this chapter. I've been busy with VBS (Vaction Bible School; it's a thing that my church does every summer for the kids in the church) and then our computer got a virus. Anyway, I really hope you'll like this chapter._

_On with the reading! _

**Chapter Five: Of Dresses …**

_**Nathan Cullen**_

As I sat there, listening to Mr. Kirsch drone on about the importance of World War II and how it had affected Europe as well as America, I stared at the back of Mackenzie's head. She was writing stuff down in her notebook, looking incredibly … good looking.

Her hair was down today, curled a bit, and I could see one of her silver hoops dangle down from her ear.

She was _so_ beautiful.

I snapped out of my daze when Mr. Kirsch called on me.

"Mr. Cullen!" He sounded a bit irritated.

"Yes, Mr. Kirsch?" I asked.

"What is so fascinating, Mr. Cullen, that you can't seem to pay any attention at all to my lecture about World War II?" he asked.

_Ah, crap_, I thought as everybody in the class turned their head to look at me. Zeke gave me a large grin. "Uh, nothing, Mr. Kirsch."

Mr. Kirsch gave me a suspicious looking glare and went back to his teaching. Deciding I might as well listen so that I could pass 11th grade and not get detention for staring at the love of my life's hair, I gave Mackenzie one last look and turned my attention to learning about World War II.

After class, I was putting my books in my locker and grabbing the ones I needed for the next class, English, when I heard someone say, "World War II is fascinating isn't it?"

I snapped my head to the left and saw Mackenzie Serra standing there, putting books in her locker. She smiled at me, and I felt my knees go weak.

I mentally slapped myself in the head when I realized that I had been staring at her for longer than thirty seconds. I cleared my throat and nodded my head. "Yeah. Fascinating stuff, it was."

_Okay, this is it, Nathan. Buck up and be a man. Ask her out_. "Hey, I was wondering –"

I didn't get to finish my sentence. A couple of girls who were passing us said, "Hey, Mackenzie!" She smiled at them and said hey back. Then she said, "Well, I'll, uh, I'll see you later, I guess."

She gave me a smile, a short wave, and then turned to walk down the hallway.

I waved after her and said softly, "Yeah, see ya."

That, ladies and gentlemen, is _not_ how you ask a girl out on a date.

~~0~~

_**Elizabeth Cullen**_

"Oh, Elizabeth! Look at this one!" my Mom said. "Can't you just _see_ yourself in this one?"

We had just walked into _Suzie's Bridal Store_ in Port Angeles. Mom, Aunt Alice, Leah, and I were currently dress shopping. Aunt Alice knew a couple of wedding dress designers, one of them being Suzie. As Aunt Alice had told me earlier that day, "It's better if you know the designer, because that way you'll get a better discount."

I looked over at the dress Mom was holding out from the rack, and my eyes nearly popped.

The dress was long, white, puffy, and very frilly.

And utterly beautiful and quite nauseating (from the amount of frill and lace) to look at.

Laughing, I shook my head. "No."

Mom laughed and said, "I was only kidding."

"I designed that one," said a French-accented voice. "Along with every other dress in here. Of that one in particular I have made only a few."

We all turned our heads to see a woman with curly brown hair that was piled on the top of her head. She was wearing a skirt and a dress shirt along with high heels. She was very pretty – her big lips accented her cheekbones and face very nicely.

"Suzie!" Aunt Alice said.

"Alice, Alice, Alice!" the woman exclaimed as her and Aunt Alice embraced in a hug and gave each other a quick peck on the cheek.

Leah and I shared an amused smile.

"And I'm guessing this is the lovely bride-to-be!" Suzie said, coming over to me and placing her hands on my cheeks, examining my face. "Ah, _oui, oui_, you are very beautiful! Your looks are from your mother, no doubt." She gestured to Mom, and we both blushed.

Leah giggled.

"So, do you have anything in mind of what type of wedding dress? I have everything here, all handmade by me," Suzie said.

"Well, I was thinking white, obviously, but not really too, too frilly," I said. And then I added after a second, "Or lacey."

Suzie clapped her hands and exclaimed in a bubbly way, "Ah! Okay, that eliminates a lot of the dresses. Onward!"

For the next hour and a half, we looked at dresses. All of them were absolutely beautiful, but somehow I couldn't find _the_ perfect dress. I wanted it to be white and simple, kind of like the dress that Anne wears at her wedding in _Anne of Green Gables: The Continuing Story_. I had always admired that dress, since it was so beautiful, but I doubted that they made those types of dresses anymore.

The first dress I tried on had a long train and tight sleeves that went to my elbows. There was also a large bow in the back and a lacey skirt. Aunt Alice, being the fashion person that she is, thought it was gorgeous, Mom couldn't help but grin at the bow and shake her head, and Leah snapped a picture on her phone.

The third dress that Suzie handed to me was a bit revealing. It looked kind of leathery, but wasn't, and it had a _collar_, believe it or not. As soon as I stepped out of the changing room, Leah shook her head quickly and made a cutting motion across her neck with her hand.

The tenth dress was really something. It looked fairly simple – it was a sleeveless white dress that went down to my knees. The skirt portion of it was flow-y, and the top part of it kind of … pushed upwards. There was also a slit down the back that Aunt Alice told me 'was in fashion now-a-days in shot gun weddings'.

I didn't even come out of the changing room in that dress.

"Okay, not to worry, I have the perfect dress, really beautiful. You will love it!" Suzie said after I said no to the thirteenth dress.

She went to the side of the store and came back with a dress in hand. She handed it to me and gently shoved me into the changing room.

When I came out, Mom, Aunt Alice, and Leah gasped.

"Oh, sweetie, you look beautiful!" Mom said.

I stood in front of the three way mirror to see what I looked like.

The dress had a bell shaped skirt that was sparkly and frilly, and had a lot of ruffles on it that kind of reminded me of a sheep. There was also – my worst nightmare – a corset. And, as an added bonus, there was also a very large bow in the back. Suzie came over and tightened the strings to the corset, and I nearly got the wind knocked out of me.

"You are so beautiful, Elizabeth. You should totally get that one!" Leah said.

Mom, Aunt Alice, Leah, and Suzie thought the dress was beautiful.

… And I would have, too, had the dress not been cutting off my air supply or disabling me from walking.

"You're kind of turning purple," Leah giggled.

"Oh, dear, you're right!" Suzie exclaimed. "Here, let me get that untied."

When I could breathe again, Suzie stepped back and looked me up and down, tapping her finger on her chin. "Hmm, you know what. I have this one dress that I think would look perfect on you."

She nodded and went into a back room, continuing, "It's simple, yet, at the same time, elegant."

Suzie emerged a few seconds later, holding a wedding dress across her arms.

A couple of moments later, I stood once again in front of the three way mirror. This time, what I saw was beautiful. The dress, as Suzie said, was perfectly simple. It was elegant.

The dress fit perfectly. It flowed down to my feet, fitting perfectly around my hips. It wasn't tight nor loose around my chest or stomach. The top was stitched elegantly with tiny, tiny diamonds and there was a bit of lace. The neck made a V-shape, but didn't expose any cleavage. The sleeves stopped at the shoulders.

And it was kind of like Anne's dress in _Anne of Green Gables: The Continuing Story_, only this dress didn't have sleeves. I also kind of looked like the dress that Anne Hathaway wore during the not-wedding in _Princess Diaries 2_.

It was perfect.

~~0~~

Two days later, on a cloudy, late Saturday morning, I was sitting on the couch in the living room, reading _Heidi_. Mom was down in the bookstore and Dad was at work. Nathan was on the other end of the couch, doing his Algebra 2 homework and listening to a baseball game on T.V. Every now and then, he would let out a frustrated groan and furiously erase something in his notebook.

"Would you like some help there, Nathan?" I once asked.

He had furiously shook his head and said in a very "I'm very annoyed at this Algebra" tone of voice, "No. Mr. _Boone_ noticed that you've been helping me and he wants me to do it on my own, even though he _knows_ that I have no freaking clue what this is about!"

I went back to my reading after that.

"Hey, Elizabeth?"

I looked up from my book to see Mom opening the door that led down to the bookshop and poking her head around it.

"Yeah?"

"I'm going to make some chicken noodle soup for supper tonight and I just now realized that I'm out of the noodles and the chicken bouillon cubes. Would you be able to go to the store for me and get them?" she asked.

I nodded. "Sure," I said, marking my spot in the book and closing it. "Nathan, want to come along?"

Nathan just shook his head and said, "Nope. I want to get the twenty problems done tonight and I'm only on number 5."

As I walked down the pasta aisle of the supermarket after I grabbed the bouillon cubes, my phone rang and I pulled it out of my jeans pocket. I smiled when I saw Ethan's name flash across the screen. I flipped it open and put it to my ear. "Hello?"

"Hey," Ethan greeted.

"What's up?" I asked as I grabbed a box of swirly pasta.

"Well, I just wanted to see how you were and tell you that I have to cancel our date tonight," he said. His voice seemed a little unsure towards the end.

I paused putting the box of pasta in my hand basket. "I was perfectly fine up until five seconds ago when you said you have to cancel our date tonight. Why?"

"Oh, just some stuff came up with my parents and I need to stay with them. And I'm really busy," he replied.

"That's what you said last night," I said, placing the first box into my hand basket. "And the night before."

"I know and I'm really sorry, baby, but I really need to do this something and I actually need to prepare for the interview tomorrow. How about we plan on dinner and a movie tomorrow night, and I can tell you all about the interview then, alright?"

I sighed and put the second into the basket. "Fine. But you have to promise tomorrow night."

"I promise. Listen, I got to go," he said.

"Alright. I'll you later?" I asked, hoping for him to say yes.

"I'll call you later tonight. Alright? I love you," he said.

I sighed and smiled. "Alright. Bye."

I flipped shut my phone and placed it back in my pocket. Was it just my imagination, or did I hear a voice in the background? I thought about it for a second, and then shrugged it off. _He's probably in a place with a lot of people_.

As a result of not looking where I was going as I turned the corner of the aisle, I accidently ran into someone. My basket dropped out of my hands as I heard an 'ow' and felt something hard and heavy drop onto my toe.

"Oh, my gosh, I am so sorry!" I said, bending down to pick up the loaf of bread, a package of yellow cheese singles, and two medium sized cans of tomato soup – the object that fell onto my toe along with my basket –, ignoring the pain in my toe.

As I picking up the cheese, a very familiar voice said, "It's quite alright."

I straightened up, bread, cheese, and soup in hand. "Oh, please, it was my fault, I wasn't looking where I was -."

I stopped mid-sentence as I looked into the face of the man I thought I'd never see again. "—Going."

"Elizabeth?"

**Author's Note:** _I'm cruel, aren't I? You'll find out who the person is in the next chapter. Meanwhile, please tell me in a review of who you think the person is, and please choose only one of these choices: her real father (James) OR her real uncle (Phillip) OR an old friend of the family (i.e., like Jacob Black), OR an old boyfriend. Only I know who it is, and I will give the people who get it correct a virtual pot of my homemade, to-die-for, "I would murder for it" (as said by my best friend, Lennon Drop, earlier today) chicken noodle soup. _

_Also, does anybody think something fishy is goin' on with Ethan Barr? - scratches chin studiously -  
_

_So, Review, and I'll put up the next chapter. Until the next time, Lemonade Ninja._


	7. And Stirred Up Feelings

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Twilight. I only own Elizabeth and her fate.

**Author's Note:** Well, here's the next chapter. I hope everybody enjoys it.. Sorry about the delay...

PLEASE READ AND REVIEW!

**Chapter Six: … Stirred Up Feelings**

_**Elizabeth Cullen**_

"Ian?" I asked, too shocked to say anything else.

Ian smiled. "The one and only."

My shock wore off as I saw his smile, and I was able to form one myself. "Of all the places to run into each other – literally," I said, chuckling softly. I handed the soup, bread, and cheese to him.

He took them and chuckled along with me.

We stood there in awkward silence for a moment, and then he said, "So, uh, do you want to get a coffee or something? It's been such a long time since we last saw each other."

I laughed. "We _haven't_ seen each other in a long time."

Ian smiled again, and this time, I felt my legs go weak. "Well, then, how about a coffee? Or hot chocolate, in your case, if I remember correctly."

I sighed and bit my lip, hesitating. "Um, you know, Ian, I really don't think that it would a great idea. I need to get these home to my Mom, and I promised to help my brother with his math. Maybe another time?" I asked hopefully.

He smiled. "Alright. But why wouldn't it be a good thing if we went to get a hot chocolate?" I could tell that he was only asking out of curiosity.

Tears all of a sudden welled up in my eyes, for some wildly unknown reason, and a pain grew up in my chest. I bit my lip again and averted my eyes to the floor. I picked up my basket, straightened up, and said, "Because, Ian. I'm getting married."

With that, I turned on my heel and walked back down the aisle and towards the check-outs, leaving my ex-boyfriend behind.

~~0~~

As soon as I left the grocery store, I got into my truck, slamming the car door and throwing the plastic bag onto the seat next to me. I jammed the keys into the ignition and drove out of parking lot. Within minutes, I found myself in front of Leah's house. I turned off the engine and grabbed the keys, getting out of the truck and running up the walkway to the front door, ignoring the throbbing pain in my big toe.

I somewhat pounded on the door, calling, "Leah!"

The door opened and there stood Leah. She had a slightly alarmed look on her face. "Elizabeth? What are you doing? What's wrong?"

I didn't answer her with anything else except, "I have a big problem." I took hold her arm and towed her up the stairs and to her bedroom.

"Okay, you have got to tell me what it is that is making you freak out," Leah said as soon as her bedroom door was closed and she was sitting on the edge of her bed.

For a few seconds I paced her room, trying to calm my brain down. And then I said, "He's back."

"Who's back?" Leah pondered, looking confused.

"Out of the blue! He just _shows_ up without even a little bit of a warning! I just now ran into him – literally – in the grocery store when I was buying noodles and bouillon cubes for my Mom!" I paced around a little more.

"Liz, _tell me_! You're not making _any_ sense," Leah said.

"Ian Dalton is back in town," I said weakly, flopping down on my back next to Leah.

Leah gasped, covering her mouth and her eyes going wide. "_Ian Dalton_! Are you sure?"

I sat up and nodded. "Yes, Leah, I am totally sure."

"Well, what happened?" Leah inquired, prodding me gently on.

I regaled my idiotic-ness and how clumsy I was by running into him. "I can't believe it! There I was, not paying any attention to what was around the corner, and – BAM! I run into him. My basket drops out of my hand, and I pretty sure that I am going to have a large bruise on my foot and toe because one of his cans of tomato soup dropped on my foot."

Leah winced. "Ouch."

"Yeah, tell me about it. And then there I was, with my ex-boyfriend standing in front me, making my knees go weak from his smile. And of course, he's still as hot and cute and charming and beautiful as he was when we were seventeen," I said.

Leah smiled.

I flopped onto my back again, this time pulling one of Leah's pillows onto my face. "God, Leah, what am I going to do? I mean, I'm getting married in three and a half months!"

"You guys finally set a date?" Leah asked, smiling.

I nodded. "Yeah. January 1. Kinda cheesy, but you know, we want to start the new year together married."

Leah laughed. "So what did you two talk about when you ran into each other in the grocery store?"

"Well, he asked me if I wanted to go get hot chocolate and catch up since we hadn't seen each other in a long time. Of course, me being me, I said no. He asked why, and I told him that it was a very bad idea because I was getting married." I sat up. "And then I left him, standing there. Oh, god, I'm horrible Leah."

Leah patted my shoulder comfortingly. "You're not horrible. You were just surprised to see him."

"Yeah, I guess. I am over him," I said.

"That's good," Leah said.

Yeah, I was over him …

… right?

~~0~~

I arrived home twenty minutes later, pulling my truck into the driveway and walking slowly up the side stairwell to the kitchen side door.

Mom was in the kitchen, cutting up the vegetables for the soup and humming along to a song on the radio, and she looked up when I walked slowly through the door. "Hey, sweetie. Did you get the noodles?" she asked. Then she saw the expression – of which I didn't what it was – on my face and she dropped the smile. "What's wrong?"

Letting out a deep breath, I said, "Nothing. Here're the noodles and cubes." I placed the plastic bag on the counter, took off my coat, and began walking towards my bedroom.

"Hold on!"

I stopped and turned around to see Mom leaning against the counter, looking at me with that 'Mom' smile. She walked over to me and, gently taking hold of my hands, led me over to the table and sat me down in one of the chairs. She grabbed the package of Oreos from the cupboard and set them in front of me before taking a seat herself.

"So, tell me what's up," she said, giving me a warm, motherly smile.

I rolled my eyes as a soft smile graced my lips. I let out a short laugh and said, "Mom, I'm not ten. You can't bribe me with Oreos anymore."

She laughed. "I know, but I can always hope and try, can't I?"

I nodded. "Yeah," I said, taking an Oreo but not eating it.

"So, tell me," Mom said, "what's bothering you. You were your normal self when you left."

I sighed, shaking my head. "It's nothing, okay? I'm fine, really. I'm just tired."

"If you're sure," Mom said, but she looked unconvinced. She patted my hand with hers and stood up. "But let me know if you want to talk, okay?" she added as she walked back over to the counter and picked up the knife again.

"Okay," I said. I stood up, grabbing my jacket from the back of the chair and _Heidi_ from the table. "Listen, I'm going out to the bridge for a while. I'll have my phone with me, so you can call me if you need anything."

I opened the door and was about to walk through it again when Mom said, "Aren't you supposed to meet Ethan soon?"

I stopped and turned back to her. "He canceled on our date tonight, so no. And besides, I'm not really hungry anymore. I just need to go down to the bridge for a bit, clear my head of everything that's in it. I'll be back later." And before my Mom could reply back to me, I made my escape through the door, closing it behind me and going down the steps to the driveway.

Dad was pulling his silver Volvo into the driveway next to my truck. The engine stopped and he got out just as I was on the last step. He smiled when he saw me. "Hey, lady bug," he said as I went up to him. He pulled me into a hug, kissing the top of my head.

"Hi, Dad," I said. "Mom's inside."

"Okay. Where are you going?" he asked. He nodded towards the _Heidi_ book in my hands.

"The bridge, just for a bit. I'll see you later," I said. I gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and got into my truck. I turned the key in the ignition, waving good-bye to him as I pulled out of the driveway.

Fifteen minutes later, I was on the other side of town, heading to my all-time favorite place – the bridge. I don't know why I loved it so much; I mean, it was only a wooden bridge that was arched over a small river. But it was peaceful, quiet, a perfect place to spend time with your thoughts … which was exactly why I went there often, to read or draw.

It was also the place that I had met … Ian, my former boyfriend.

God, he had such nerve showing up here without warning!

_Maybe he wanted to see you again_.

Maybe…

God, he looked just as cute as he did when we were in high school, I thought.

_Stop it! You're getting married! To another person, I might add. You have to stop thinking about how great he looked!_

I sat down in the middle of the bridge, and dangled my feet over the edge, opening up _Heidi_ to where I had been earlier that day, and began reading. I had gotten only a couple of pages farther when I heard footsteps and a chuckle. Then a voice said, "Reading that book again?"

I started and twisted my body around to look up at whoever was standing behind me.

The man standing in front of me was Ian Dalton.

He smiled when I turned to look at him, and then sat down next to me. "Hi, Liz."

"Are you stalking me or something?" I asked, marking my place in the book and setting it down on the bridge next to me. My voice was light, teasing, much to my surprise.

"Nope. I just happened to be going for a walk, and I recognized your blue truck, so I thought I'd come say hello," he said.

I looked at him for a few seconds, and then smiled back at him, laughing a little. "Hi."

"So, why are you always reading that book?" he asked.

I shrugged. "I'm always reading it because I love it. It was my Mom's copy, but she gave it to me when she caught me stealing it from her bookshelf when I was ten, and then told me that she had been reading it when she went into labor with me."

Ian laughed. "Well, that's interesting – the book has historical memories attached to it."

I laughed. For some reason, like it had been before we had broken up, I found it very easy to laugh and be comfortable around him.

And that was a _very_ bad thing.

And then, before I realized what my mouth was doing, I found myself saying, "You remember the offer that you gave me back at the grocery store?" He nodded. "Still want to go get a coffee or hot chocolate?" It was getting colder by the minute, I realized.

He smiled widely. "It would be my pleasure," he said, standing up and offering his hand to help me up.

As we walked back to my truck, I couldn't help but notice the feeling that was stirring up in my chest. It was a deep, gnawing feeling of guilt – like I was about to do something that I shouldn't be doing, especially since I was engaged to be married to another man!

It stirred up the simple (or so I thought) question I had asked myself earlier that day – was I over him completely?

**Author's Note:** _Hey, everybody, sorry about the delay in posting - but I've got a good reason. I've had stomach problems for several years and they diagnosed it as gastroparesis (very slow digesting of food in the stomach) a couple of years ago. I still have problems, and the doctor that I'm currently seeing is trying to figure out what medicine is best (I've been on different ones, to see if it would help, but it only worked for a few days, a couple weeks at the most before it would stop working)._

_So, bottom line is, my stomach still doesn't feel good for a very large portion of the day. It really sucks too, especially with the hot temperatures that we've had lately. And of course, our computer has had a virus for the past two weeks, so I haven't really been able to update. But it's back in good health again, and now I'm able to update again. _

_And so, I really hope you guys are still reading this story, even though most people might think this as a pretty pathetic excuse..._

_ANYWAY... So, were a lot of you surprised as to who the mystery guy turned out to be? Let me know what you think. I'm not sure when you guys will find out the history between them (except for the already known fact that they used to date each other), but it will definitely be soon. _

_Please review on your way out, and I might just post another chapter this week... Until Next Time, eat enchiladas (I made them for supper tonight and they were absolute delic): Lemonade Ninja._


	8. I Forgave You a Long Time Ago

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Twilight. I only own Elizabeth, Nathan, Ian, and Ethan.

**Author's Note:** SO sorry about the HUGE delay in posting another chapter. I've been busy, and sick, and I was looking for a good way to write this current chapter. But it has been written and now I am posting it, so please don't be mad at me for the almost three week delay of posting.

Please read and review and enjoy the chapter. (I hope I made it long enough to appease you readers)...

**Chapter Seven: I Forgave You a Long Time Ago**

_**Elizabeth Cullen**_

As I sat across from him, I thought about what I was doing. I was sitting in a café with my _ex-boyfriend_ drinking hot cocoa. Very. Very. Very. Bad. Idea.

"I see that you still like to put five packets of sugar in your coffee," I said, watching as Ian poured a fifth packet into his cup.

He shrugged. "Only way I can stand it."

He laughed then and I found myself laughing with him.

The waitress brought over our orders just then (piece of apple pie for me, piece of chocolate pudding pie for Ian), placing them down in front of us. As we began eating our pie, I asked him, "So how long have you been in town?"

"Only a couple of days. I was over in Sacramento when I got the news that my father's health was declining. Mom called me, begging me to come back home to help out with the diner."

My hand went to my mouth. "Oh, my god. Ian, I am so sorry. I didn't hear. How's he doing?"

Ian smiled and once again I found myself being dazzled. "He's doing okay. Taking one day at a time. I'm helping Mom take care of him."

A wave of sympathy washed over me. I remembered Ian's father – he was such a kind and compassionate man, friendly with all the people in town. Ian was very much like him, as well as very close to his father – it must have been heartbreaking to hear that sort of news.

"I've moved back here, to help Mom with the diner," Ian said.

Ian's parents ran a diner in the center of town – a popular place that served very good food and friendly reception. It was called Dan and Helen's – which were Ian's parent's names. The diner opened the summer before my junior year of high school, and I had managed to get a job there as a waitress. I had loved working there, but ended up quitting during the summer I went to college.

"But, what about your dream job?" I asked.

All the years that I had known him, Ian's dream job was to teach music to kids. He was a great musician – could play guitar, violin, piano; he was amazing at it and he had even written a few songs of his own. I had – and would – always admire him for it … especially since I couldn't play an instrument even to save my own life (Dad was always trying to teach me how to play the piano, but I could barely even play 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star').

Ian smiled. "I'm still going to do my dream job. The principal at the school that I was going to be teaching at in Sacramento knows the principal at the Middle School here, and asked if they needed a music teacher for the kids. They do – I start tomorrow."

I smiled a smile of awe and said, "Ian, that's great. Congratulations."

"Thanks," he said.

"But, you hated this town in high school," I said.

He chuckled. "Yeah, I did. I was ready to lit on out of here and strike out on my own. But hearing that Dad was slowly dying put some perspective in my eyes. Do I stay away and live my dream, or go back and help my parents out? I had to decide which was more important."

I smiled.

Then he looked hesitant for a split second and then said, "I also missed you. A lot."

I looked down at my pie, biting my lip to fight back a smile and to suppress feelings that I didn't want to resurface.

"I missed you, too, Ian," I said, looking back up at him.

_I really, really, truly did. A lot_.

"Well, enough about me. What about you? What's been happening in your life since high school graduation?" Ian asked, switching the subject.

"Well, after high school I went to Seattle University, and studied architecture and photography," I said.

Ian looked impressed. "You always were good at drawing. And photography, too," he said.

I blushed. "Well, I figured that since I was good at _something_ and I loved that _something_, I might as well put it to good use. I went on a trip to Europe this summer with my class – drew a ton of sketches and took a ton of pictures."

"You went to Europe?" Ian sounded even more impressed. "How'd you like it?"

"Amazing. We went to Italy, France, and Greece. It was so beautiful. I'm never eating squid or snails again, that's for sure," I said.

Ian laughed, and I laughed with him.

It was scary how easily I could laugh with him.

It was wrong.

"So, do I know him?"

"Know who?"

He motioned toward my engagement ring. "Your fiancé."

I shook my head. "No. But he is from Washington. I met him in Italy, and we dated and fell in love and then he proposed in Athens, three days before I left to come home."

"Just curious – how'd you meet him?"

My face turned beet red and Ian grinned when he saw it. "Um, he saved me from the Trevi Fountain. I fell in when he said hi to me – he caught me by surprise as I was throwing a penny into the Fountain, and well, I ended up getting soaked."

Ian laughed again. "You seem to fall into water when boys say hello to you. Remember when we first met?"

I could feel my face go redder.

The day I had met Ian, I had been sitting on the bridge reading. Of course I was so enthralled with my book that I didn't hear him come up behind me. So what happens? I start and twirled around so fast that I fell into the water. Ian had begun laughing so hard that he could barely help me out of the water.

"How could I forget?" I said, blushing furiously.

We sat there, laughing for a moment. Then the laughing died down, and we sat silent for a moment, just eating our pie. And then Ian said, his tone turning serious yet hopeful, "Listen, Liz" – I smiled. I had always liked it when he called me that – "One of the reasons why I asked you if you wanted to get coffee was because I was hoping that I could apologize to you."

I cocked my head. "Apologize for what?"

"For what happened between us, when I left. I never meant to hurt you," he said.

His blue eyes looked deep into mine, and I saw that he really was sorry about hurting me.

I looked down at the last of my piece of pie and sighed. Then I looked back up at him, smiling. "Ian, you don't have to apologize."

He shook his head. "Yes, I do. I felt terrible for hurting you."

"No, Ian. It's okay, really. We both wanted something different," I said. "We both had separate paths that we wanted to follow."

I didn't want to tell him that I had spent the entire day after we broke up watching pointless chick flicks and eating a whole container of Fluff, and nothing else, and literally made myself sick (not on purpose, though).

"Not a day has gone by where I don't regret what happened. I _still_ feel terrible about it," he said.

Laughing softly, I shook my head, feeling my brown hair bounce. "Ian, you don't have to feel sorry. I already forgave you – a long time ago."

But had I been over him then, after I had forgiven him?

No.

Was I over him _now_, while I sat here, in a café, with my ex-boyfriend and a fiancé who was at a job interview?

I wasn't sure.

And that kind of freaked me out.

~~0~~

I got back home forty-five minutes later. I stopped to say hello to Mom and Dad, scratched Molly behind her ears as a greeting, and then retreated into my bedroom.

I laid down on my back on my bed, staring up at my ceiling. Thoughts were twirling through my mind, and memories were dancing about behind my eyes, begging to be seen.

_Water ran calmly and quietly underneath the bridge. I sat down on the edge, pulling out my book out of my bag and opening up the umbrella to grasp, in case it started to rain without notice. _The Adventures of Tom Sawyer_ was what I was currently reading. _

_Nathan always laughed at the fact that I read so much. I didn't mind – it gave a person different adventures when they read books. _

_I had just gotten off a five hour shift at Dan and Helen's, the diner in the center of the town that was quickly becoming popular with the town's people. The owners, Dan and Helen Dalton, were very nice. They had hired me on the spot, to my surprise. I worked there three days a week – Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and the rest of the days I helped Mom in her bookshop. _

_I opened _Tom Sawyer_ to where I had last left off, and began reading. _

_I was just getting to the part where Tom was at the picnic that his Sunday School was holding when all of a sudden, a voice said, "Hello."_

_Of course, with my mind fully in the book, I didn't hear anybody walk up behind me. So, I was startled, and I twirled around so quickly (momentarily forgetting that I was sitting down) that I found myself in the water. Thankfully, my book had landed safely on the bridge. _

_The person who owned the voice burst out laughing. _

"_A little help, please?" I said, attempting to climb back up onto the bridge but failing. _

_The person tried to suppress his laughter as he helped me climb out of the water and onto the bridge. _

_I laid back on the bridge, facing the sky, breathing hard and trying to settle my heart down. _

_The boy's laughter died down, and all of a sudden, I was staring into the most beautiful face – a great smile, the bluest eyes that I'd ever seen, absolutely adorable in all aspects. His shaggy brown hair fell over his eyes and let me tell you, he had the most perfect eyebrows I had ever seen on a guy. He had really cute ears as well. _

"_Are you okay?" he asked. Amusement was in his voice – he was obviously highly amused at the fact that I fell in the water._

_I nodded my head. "Yeah, I think so."_

_He held out a hand and I grabbed it. He pulled and helped me stand up. _

"_That's good. I don't usually have this type of reaction from girls when I say hello to them," he said._

_I laughed. "Well, it was mostly my fault. I wasn't paying any attention to my surroundings."_

_The boy smiled again, and, surprisingly, my knees went weak and it was all I could do to keep them from knocking together. _

_He held out his hand and said, "Ian Dalton. It's a pleasure to meet you."_

_I smiled. "Elizabeth Cullen. And it's a pleasure to meet you too." _

A smile came to my lips as I remembered the day I met Ian. We had both been about the same age – him sixteen, I almost sixteen. I couldn't remember when it was that I fell in love with him, but I would always remember the sort of electrical shock I felt when we had shook hands that day on the bridge.

I cringed when a memory pushed its way through to the front, and I quickly pushed it back. I grabbed my MP3 player, mashed the headphones into my ears, turned it on, and lay with my eyes closed, hoping to get my thoughts away from my ex-boyfriend. I put it on shuffle.

A song came on and I groaned when I recognized it – _A Girl Worth Fighting For_, a song in Disney's _Mulan_.

I whimpered and switched the song, pulling my pillow over my head.

~~0~~

Ethan didn't call.

I sat on the couch in the living room, watching TV, waiting for him to call.

He never did.

By midnight, I was getting a little ticked off. By three in the morning, I was more than a little ticked off. I was actually a little mad at him. I tried his cell five times, but all I got was his voicemail, without even a ringing tone.

Around noon, later that day, I was still waiting for him to call. I was helping Mom down in the bookshop, helping customers and dusting the shelves. I jumped whenever the phone in the bookshop rang, and was disappointed when it wasn't him.

It was nearing one in the afternoon, I was in the back, grabbing a box of books for my mom, when I heard the shop door open. I heard Mom talking with somebody and then heard her call, "Liz!"

"Coming!" I called back, and picked up the box to bring out front.

Ethan was leaning against the counter. I slowed down my walk a bit when I saw him. Mom took the box from me and said, "Thanks, sweetie. I'll leave you two kids to talk." She walked away then, to the other side of the book shop.

"So, where were you last night?" I asked. "You said you were going to call but you didn't."

"Yeah, I know," he said. "I came in here to apologize for that. I was very tired after the interview and I just wanted to go home and get some sleep. I forgot about the promise of calling you."

I looked at him. "I waited until three o' clock this morning, Ethan, for you to call. You could have at least called me to say goodnight."

"Look, baby, I'm really sorry. I wanted to know if I could make it up to you," he said.

"How?" I asked.

"How about I take you to dinner and a movie tonight, all on me," he offered.

I cocked my head, biting my lip, contemplating. I thought about it for a few minutes, already having made up my mind, but wanting Ethan to have to wait in agonizing torture. "Alright. You're not completely forgiven, but I suppose since it's on you, you might get completely forgiven."

Ethan smiled. "Alright. Pick you up at seven?"

I nodded. "Just promise that you won't back out of tonight, alright?"

Ethan nodded. "I promise."

I held up my pinkie. "Pinkie promise?"

Ethan laughed and wrapped his pinkie around mine. "Pinkie promise," he said, and then leaned in to kiss me.

As he kissed me, I thought I smelled something uniquely different. I pulled back. "Are you wearing perfume, Ethan?"

To my surprise, he stiffened for a split second and then said, "Oh, yeah, my Mom has this new perfume. She sprayed it on herself and then hugged me this morning. I'm surprised it's still lingering."

"Oh," I said. "Alright. I'll see you tonight?"

"Yeah, yeah. I'll, uh, I'll see you at seven," he said.

As he left the shop, I couldn't help but get the faint feeling that somehow he wasn't tell the truth. I pushed it aside and went back to helping Mom.

**Author's Note:** _Hmm, is Ethan Barr hiding something from our dearly beloved Elizabeth Cullen? Is Elizabeth finding that she still has some feeling for the ex? Stay tuned for more! Drama will be coming Elizabeth _and _Nathan's way soon! _

_Please review before you leave! It will get more chapters written sooner. I intend on finishing this story before school starts up again in September, one of the main reasons being that I'm taking Algebra 2 and chemistry this year and I can already tell they're going whip my butt. Anyway, I'll see you next time! Lemonade Ninja._

_P.S. – Oh, I posted pictures for this story on my profile. Go check 'em out! There's pictures for Elizabeth, Nathan, Ian, Ethan, and her engagement ring! _


	9. Accident

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Twilight.

**Chapter Eight: Accident**

_**Elizabeth Cullen**_

The next month – which went smoothly, thank god – was spent in a flurry of wedding preparations. Aunt Alice was forever calling about wedding plans, or coming over with satchels of colors or whatnot. Mom managed to convince me – and Aunt Alice – that I, being, of course, the bride, should have a part of planning the wedding, not just herself and Aunt Alice. We made Ethan a part of the plans, as well, and he seemed to like being part of it.

Ethan's mother called practically every day, just to either chat about whatever or – to my horror – asking when Ethan and I were planning on having kids.

Mom only laughed when I told her this, and Nathan was on the floor, rolling around laughing his head off and clutching his side.

Don't get me wrong – I really do want kids. Not too many, maybe one or two, but asking me about kids before I'm even _married_ is a little too much.

Monday, Thursday, and Friday nights were Ethan and mine's date nights. We would either go out and have dinner, or stay in, and play a game with Nathan or watch a movie.

Things were going well. I was excited about soon becoming a 'Mrs.', things continued to be well between Ethan and I, and Mom and I tried to keep Aunt Alice under wraps with the wedding plans.

And then, two things happened – well, three things, actually – that changed the direction of the planning, etc., etc. …

~~0~~

"Okay, the book should be here by Monday or Tuesday of next week. We'll call you if there are any problems with the shipping, but it should be here by then," I said. I listened to the person on the other end of the line for a few seconds, and then said, "Okay, you're welcome. Bye-bye."

I hung up just as Mom came through from the back. She smiled and said, "You have become quite the pro at that, sweetie pie. You do it even better than me."

A blush crept up into my cheeks, and I shrugged my shoulders. "I do not. I learned from the best."

Mom smiled and touched her hand to my cheek. "I know. What do you say we order in for a change for lunch?"

"Sure," I said. "Where do you want food from? I could go and get it and bring it back here."

"Let's order a couple of those cheeseburgers from Dan and Helen's. We haven't had their burgers in forever," Mom said.

Without meaning to, I paused. "Dan and Helen's?" I asked. "Are you sure?"

Mom nodded. "I'm sure. What's with the pausing? You love their burgers. And their fries."

I hesitated, wondering how to word it. "I know. It's just … I could run into Ian there, and, well, that wouldn't be very good." I looked down at the counter as I said this, busying myself with straightening the advertisement brochures that were sitting next to the cash register.

When I looked up a few seconds later, there was a confused look on her face, and a look of dawning appeared and she said, "Oh, this is about the fact that Ian Dalton has come back to live here."

I nodded silently.

"Why would that be bad?" she asked.

I sighed. "I don't really know. Maybe I'm scared that my engagement to Ethan is gonna hurt my friendship with Ian. What do you want on the burger?" I asked, grabbing a scrap of paper and pencil and looking toward Mom again.

Fifteen minutes later, I drove Old Major up to Dan and Helen's. I pulled the keys from the ignition and got out, taking a deep breath before entering the small diner.

Dan and Helen's hadn't changed one bit since I had last been there, which had been the summer before I went to college. The outside looked the same – it was still painted red, though the color had faded a bit. Flower troughs filled with ferns and daisies lined the windows and the words 'Dan and Helen's' were printed on a sign that hung above the door.

The inside looked the same, as well. The four seater tables were still covered with red and white checkered table cloths, with one salt shaker and one pepper shaker with a menu standing in between them. The oldies music machine – the one where you put quarters in and choose a song – stood in the same corner. Only two table were filled, with one person at each, drinking mugs of coffee and reading the newspaper.

There was a long counter at one end of the diner, where a cash register sat at one end. The black menu boards hung on the wall behind it, with a door leading to the kitchen in between them.

Aromas filled my nose the second I walked in the door, and I breathed in a long breath, feeling my mouth water at the smell. Now I really wanted one of their burgers.

I walked up to the cash register just as Ian's mother came through the kitchen door. She smiled when she saw me.

"Elizabeth! What a pleasant surprise," she said. "It's lovely to see you again."

"It's nice to see you, as well," I replied, smiling back at her. "This place hasn't changed one bit since I was last in here," I added, feeling a compliment was needed. Then I added on, "I heard about your husband. I'm very sorry. How's he feeling today?"

Helen smiled. "He's doing well today, thanks for asking, Elizabeth. He has his good days and his bad days – just taking it one day at a time. So, what can I do for you this afternoon?"

"I was wondering if I could have two cheeseburgers with mayonnaise, lettuce, and bacon, and a large order of your fries, please?" I asked.

"You certainly may," Helen said, writing down my order on an order pad and ripping it off the pad. "This should take about fifteen minutes. Take a seat and I'll have it brought out when it's done, alright?"

I nodded. "Thank you," I said, and watched as Helen disappeared into the kitchen.

As I waited, I sat down at one of their tables next to their counter, staring at the old, black and white pictures that hung around the diner, all the while playing absent-mindedly with my engagement ring. The swinging kitchen door opened fifteen minutes later, and I stood up from my table. I slowed my movements when I saw exactly who had walked through the door.

Ian smiled when he saw me, setting the paper bag with my order in it down on the counter. "Hey, Liz."

_**Ian Dalton**_

Liz smiled back. "Hey."

"So, I haven't seen you around lately," I said.

She blushed. "Yeah, well, I've been busy. With wedding plans," she said, not breaking her gaze from me.

"How's that going?" I asked.

"The plans are coming along well. We've decided on a place for the ceremony, and all that stuff. Mom and I have been pretty busy trying to keep my Aunt Alice in check."

I laughed. "I remember your Aunt Alice. She always did seem a little bit excited about something when it came to planning something."

Liz smiled again. "Yeah. I kind of remember, when my parents got married, that Aunt Alice would always call Mom about wedding plans. It kind of drove her insane a little. Hey, are you supposed to be at the school, teaching?"

"It's Saturday, Liz. Kids don't go to school on Saturdays," I said, grinning.

Elizabeth flushed a deep red. "Oh. Right. Kind of a blond moment there. Anyway, so what do I owe you?" she asked.

"Ten dollars and twenty cents. But it's on the house this time. You're a past employee."

"But I have to pay something," she said. "It's not right. Take it." She pushed the money at me.

I sighed and took the money. "Alright, but the next order you place here is on the house. Deal?"

She looked at me for a moment, a queer expression on her face. And then she sighed, smiling. "Alright. It's a deal."

Just as Elizabeth was about to leave, my mom came out.

"Oh, Elizabeth?" she asked.

Liz turned around and said, "Yes?"

"I heard around town that you're getting married. Congratulations," Mom said.

Liz blushed and said, "Uh, thanks. We're pretty excited." She laughed a nonchalant laugh, but it sounded off, I could tell. "Well, I got to get this back. It was nice seeing you."

I watched as Elizabeth waved good-bye and walked out of the diner, her beautiful brown hair that she had left down today bounce slightly as she walked.

I found myself day-dreaming, remembering the day we had met on the bridge, back when we were in high school. God, she had been beautiful then, too, but, now that she was older, she was even more so now. Her hair fell in the perfect way, her beautiful chocolate brown eyes – just like her mothers, but rimmed with green – were shining.

"You lost a good woman, my son," Mom said, placing her hand on my shoulder.

I just continued to stare at the diner door. I sighed. "Yeah. I know."

"Excuse me, could I get some more coffee?"

_**Elizabeth Cullen**_

I lounged on the couch, multitasking with watching some soap opera and reading the arts section of the newspaper. It was later that day, and I was trying to take my mind off of Ian – whose face kept on popping up into my mind's eye.

I was unsuccessful.

_The air was unusually warm, making itself known at the very rare temperature of 77 degrees. _

_It was June, only a week after graduation, and I was sitting in the park on a bench, sketching some birds that were pecking at the ground with their beaks. Ian had called and asked me to meet me here. He hadn't said why he wanted to meet me, but I could tell from the sound of his voice that it was important. _

"_Hey, beautiful."_

_I smiled as he sat down on the bench next to me. "Hey," I said. "So, what did you want to talk to me about?" _

_Ian got a slightly nervous look on his face. "Well … I don't really know how to put this."_

"_Just say it," I said. _

_He laughed a nervous laugh. "I wish I could. Okay, you know how when you asked me a couple months back about what I wanted to do for college?" I nodded. "Well, that wasn't exactly true."_

_My eyebrow raised. "What do you mean?"_

"_Well, I wasn't exactly … telling the truth when I told you that I didn't know what I was going to do for college."_

"_Okay …." I trailed off, silently nudging him on._

"_I want to get out of Forks," he said. "I'm going to Sacramento."_

_My other eyebrow raised. "Sacramento? But what about your parents?" _

"_Liz, I don't want to be my parents. They want me to work in their diner for the rest of my life. I don't want to do that. I want to go out in the world, become a musician and teach little kids the fine arts of music."_

"_Okay. When are you going? I can figure out something to tell my parents, and I'll go with you," I said. _

_When he didn't respond, I began to get a feeling of dread, and I prayed that what I thought was going to come next wasn't going to come next. "Ian?"_

"_Liz … I don't want you to come with me to Sacramento."_

_I was right. My heart dropped. It took me a moment to get my voice back. "What?"_

"_I don't want you to come with me to Sacramento," he repeated._

"_What are you saying?" I asked. "What are you leading up to? Ian, this had better be a joke."_

_It wasn't – I could tell by the serious look in Ian's eyes. _

"_Ian?" I repeated. "What are you telling me?" He still didn't answer. "Are you breaking up with me?"_

_Ian gulped. "Yes."_

_I sat there, not able to breathe, not able to speak. "But … why? Ian, we had a plan. What happened to the carving on the tree?" _

"_The plans changed, Elizabeth," Ian said. _

_He reached out with his hand to touch my face, but I turned my head away. He sighed. "Elizabeth, we both have different dreams, different ways we want to go in life. We wouldn't be able to do a long distance relationship with you at Seattle U and me in Sacramento."_

"_We could always try," I said, but I knew that he was right. Long distance relationships never worked out._

_He shook his head. "We can't. It wouldn't work."_

_Pain was stretching across my chest. I felt like I couldn't breathe. I stood up and walked back and forth. _

_That helped. A little. _

"_What about if I find a college in Sacramento to go to. We could still be together then," I said. _

_Ian got up and caught me with his hands, making me stop walking. "We can't be together anymore."_

_One of the traits I had inherited from my Mom was anger hard-wired to my tear ducts – I cried whenever I got angry. But these tears hadn't been triggered by anger. Well, okay part of it was. But the other part was from pain and rejection. _

_Wouldn't you feel the same way if your boyfriend broke up with you unannounced, when you had thought everything had been going great?_

_I choked back the tears that were threatening to come. "When are you leaving?" I whispered. _

"_I catch a flight out tonight," he said. "It's been planned for some time."_

_I took a deep breath, but that caused the tears to run over. Ian reached up with his thumbs and wiped them away. Then he placed his lips on mine – one last, final kiss._

"_Good-bye, Elizabeth Marie Swan."_

_And then he was gone. _

I broke out of the painful memory just as my stomach growled hungrily. I laughed and decided that it was time for some supper. Switching off the television, throwing the paper aside, and standing up from the couch, I went over to the refrigerator and found nothing but left-over's that we'd been having for the past four nights.

I sighed and walked down the hallway to Nathan's room. I knocked, and was granted permission to enter. My younger brother was on his bed, reading a comic book.

He looked up. "Hey. What's up?" he asked, and then looked back at his comic book.

"Mom and Dad left an hour ago, there's nothing in the refrigerator except left-over's, so what do you say about going down the road to the pizzeria?" I asked.

Instantly, Nathan slapped his book shut and sat up. "Yes. Anything to get away from this."

I held up my hand. "Only on one condition." Nathan's faced instantly drooped. "Mom made me promise to make sure you finish your homework. So, if we go get pizza, will you finish your homework when we get back? Instead of reading the comic book?"

Five minutes later, we were walking down the side steps and on the sidewalk. The pizzeria was thankfully only about five buildings down the street from the bookshop, so we were able to walk. The sky had turned a nasty gray, and the wind was whipping. We pulled our coats tighter around ourselves. I could sense a huge storm was coming.

The pizzeria was warm and it smelled of fresh tomatoes and basil.

"Hey, look, it's Ian!" Nathan murmured, nudging me and pointing at a corner table in the back.

For some bizarre and unwelcome reason, my heart fluttered. I quickly got a hold of myself as Ian spotted us, smiled, and waved us over to his table.

"Hey, guys!" he said.

And the next moment, before I knew what I was doing and before I realized I didn't really care, we were sitting at Ian's table, sharing his pizza (he had asked us to, and before I could cover Nathan's mouth, my younger brother had accepted Ian's invitation).

For the next half hour, we ate pizza and laughed and talked, just having – scarily – a good time, just like we used to when Ian and I used to take Nathan out to pizza sometimes.

And then …

… my cell rang.

I dug it out from my pocket and saw that it was Grandpa Carlisle who was calling. I flipped open the phone and put it to my ear. "Hey, Grandpa, what's up?"

"Liz, where are you and your brother?" His voice sounded worried.

"At the pizzeria, having supper. What's wrong?" I began to get a little worried.

"Liz, honey, you and Nathan need to come down to the hospital."

"Why?"

There was a moment's pause, and then Grandpa Carlisle said, "There's been an accident, and your Mom and Dad are in the hospital."

**Author's Note:** _SO sorry for the cliffhanger, but I've been waiting to get that out of my system for a long time. Do you guys hate me? I've had a tube stuck in my nose for the past twenty-four hours, so I apologize if there's any errors in punctuation or grammar. Please read and review on your way out - they are HIGHLY appreciated and they make me feel better. I promise the next chapter will be up very soon. _

_Until Next Time: Lemonade Ninja_


	10. How Do I Know If You Care For Me?

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Twilight.

**Author's Note:** Sorry for the huge delay... I've been busy getting ready for the school year and it's also been wicked hot where I am - despite the fact that it's now September ... I guess August wanted to go out with a bang. Anyway, I have finally written the chapter and am now going to post it.

And so, please read and review on your way out. I want to thank everybody who reviewed for the last chapter. It means a whole lot to me, and I hope you'll keep reviewing. Anyway, on with the chapter! Happy reading!

**Chapter Nine: How Do I Know If You Care For Me?**

_**Elizabeth Cullen**_

I wonder what it feels like when you're having a heart attack. I'm sure that you wouldn't be able to breathe, and it would feel like the world had stopped right where you were, right along with your heart.

That's what I felt like when I heard Grandpa Carlisle say the words that my parents had been in a car accident – I couldn't breathe and it had been like the whole world had stopped. Because I was in so much shock, I couldn't even cry. I managed to tell my grandfather that we would be right there, quickly hung up the phone and then told Nathan that we had to leave.

And then I remembered that we didn't have the car, since it was back at home.

"Come on. Let me drive you guys. I have the truck and it's pouring out – you shouldn't be walking in this rain," said Ian, throwing a twenty down on the table and standing up, grabbing his coat.

The ride to the hospital was quick, and before I knew where we were, we were running through the entrance to the hospital's ER, hurrying up the front desk.

"Excuse me, we're looking for Dr. Carlisle Cullen," I said. "Would you know where he is?"

Before the woman could answer, we heard a voice call out my name. We turned to see Grandpa Carlisle coming towards us.

"What happened? Are Mom and Dad alright?" I asked. Worry was lining my voice.

Carlisle placed each of his hands on my shoulder and Nathan's. "The rain just got a little too thick and heavy for your dad to see through, and the roads got a little too slick. They're both still unconscious right now, and we don't know a whole bunch, but we're pretty sure they'll be alright."

I felt a surge of relief go through my body, and I saw Nathan next to me let out a breath of relief as well. I wrapped my arm around my little brother with a comforting gesture.

Carlisle noticed Ian then. "Ian Dalton!" He held out his hand for Ian to shake. Ian took it, returning the smile Carlisle sent him. "It's very nice to see you again."

"And you, too, sir," Ian said.

"Can we go see them?" Nathan asked.

"Not yet. Why don't you go down to the waiting room and I'll get you some more information as soon as I know more, alright?"

The waiting room was nearly empty, with the only occupant two older ladies.

"Should I go, or would you like me to stay here with you two until you know more about your parents?" Ian offered.

I turned to him. There was a look on his face that surprised me – there was a look of compassion in his eyes … for me and Nathan. When I found my voice, I said, "Um … you don't have to … well, I mean …" – _Shut up, Elizabeth, and quit babbling. You know you want him to stay_ – "… that would be nice."

I asked Ian if he wouldn't mind sitting with Nathan for a moment while I went and made a call. He said he didn't mind and the two of them went to go sit in a couple of leather covered chairs – you know, the ones that grow incredibly uncomfortable the more you sat in them.

As I walked away down the hall, I pulled my phone out of my pocket, flipped it open and dialed Ethan's home phone number. He had said he would be at home tonight, working on something.

Mrs. Barr answered the phone. "Hello?"

"Hi, Mrs. Barr. This is Elizabeth," I began.

"Ah, Elizabeth, my dear! Now, what have I told you about calling me Mrs. Barr? You're going to be Mrs. Barr soon, too! You need to start calling me Tilda!" she squealed, causing me to hold the phone away from my ear.

"Sorry, Tilda, I keep on forgetting. Um, listen, I'm looking for Ethan. Is he home?" I asked.

"No, honey. He left a couple of hours ago. Do you want me to take a message for him?" Tilda said.

He wasn't home? He told me that was going to be home. Did he … lie to me? Confusion filled my head, but I shook it aside.

"Um, no, thank you Tilda. I'll just try his cell. Bye," I said, and ended the call. I dialed Ethan's phone number and pressed send.

The phone rang the standard five times, then went straight to voicemail.

"_This is Ethan Barr. Leave a message at the beep and I'll get back to you._"

"Ethan, it's Elizabeth. I don't know where you are or what you're doing, but you're not at home, where you said you'd be all night. Give me a call, please. My parents are in the hospital. They're going to be alright, but please call me back when you get this message. Bye."

I ended the call and flipped my phone shut. I brought my hands to my eyes and took two deep breaths to calm myself.

I walked back to the waiting room and sat down next to Nathan. He was looking pretty pale and worried. I wrapped my arm around him and gave him a one-armed hug. "They'll be okay, Nathan. You heard Grandpa Carlisle."

"I know. And I know for sure that if they are okay, I'll do my homework when I'm told," Nathan said.

A laugh surfaced in the back of my throat, and I couldn't help myself. Ian laughed as well, and Nathan gave a weak chuckle.

"I'm pretty sure you will," I said, ruffling the top of his head, like I used to do when we were younger and I was annoying him.

The next two hours were spent in anxious waiting. I tried Ethan's cell twelve more times during that time, but each time he didn't answer. I left numerous voice messages on his phone, but he hadn't yet call back. By the time two hours had expired, I was beginning to get a little ticked off – all originating from my worry for my parents.

I knew that they were going to be alright – Grandpa Carlisle had said that they were going to be fine – but how could I not worry? I loved them both so much.

Grandma Esme arrived shortly after we had sat down in the waiting room. I guess Grandpa Carlisle had called her to let her know what was happening.

Just as I was about to suggest that we call Grandpa Charlie to let him know that Mom and Dad had been in an accident, I remembered with a wave of sadness that he was no longer with us. He had died three years ago, shot on duty while he was answering a call about a robbery at the convenience store in town.

Mom had been sad for a long while after the funeral, but she had finally managed to pull herself out of the depression and come to terms with the fact that her father – whom she had loved very much – was dead.

And then, when we had been waiting – Ian being faithful all the while – for two hours and fifteen minutes, my cell rang. I looked at the caller ID and saw that Ethan was calling. I said I would be right back and walked down the hallway, answering my phone.

"Ethan, finally. I've been trying to call you for the past two hours," I said.

"I know. I've had my phone off. What were you trying to call me about?" he asked.

"Didn't you get the thirteen messages I left?" I asked.

"You left me messages?" There was silence and then he chuckled nervously and said, "Oh, yeah, I just now saw them. Sorry about that. You know I don't check my messages very often."

For some reason, my anger steadily grew. "Well, you should. I've been trying to get a hold of you, to tell you that my parents are in the hospital and I really need you here, Ethan."

"I've been busy."

And then, I heard over the phone a low giggle – a female sounding giggle that escalated into low laugh. A young female sounding voice said, "Come on, Ethan."

"Ethan, where are you?" I asked.

There was a short pause and then I heard him say, "At a café. I'm meeting a couple of co-workers."

"Co-workers?" I questioned. "Ethan, I need you to come. I need you to be here with me. I haven't seen you in a week, and now, when I really need you to be with me, you're meeting co-workers?"

"Lizzy, baby, honey –"

I interrupted him. "No, forget it, Ethan. If you're too busy with co-workers to come to your fiancee's side when she really needs you, then how am I supposed to know if you really care for me?"

"Liz, I care for you. I do."

I was too angry to believe him. "Bye, Ethan."

As I hung up, tears stung my eyes and threatened to overflow. I pushed the phone back in my pocket and leaned against a wall, tears beginning to leak down my face.

Just then, I heard footsteps and I looked up to see Ian standing in front of me. Immediately, I flushed a bright red and I brushed the tears from my face. "How much of that did you hear?"

"Not much of it. I politely tuned the conversation out." He looked at me carefully, and then added. "Your grandfather came out. Your parents are awake and you'll be able to see them in a moment."

I took a deep breath of relief. "Are they okay?" I asked.

"Your mother has a concussion, a broken wrist, and a minor cut on her forehead, and your father has a badly twisted ankle and a concussion as well. They'll both be okay, but they're going to have to stay overnight," Ian said.

"Thank you for staying," I said, giving him a small smile. "It was very kind of you."

"It was my pleasure, Liz. I wanted to make sure your parents were okay… and that you were okay, as well."

I paused. "Well, thank you."

"So, is, uh, Ethan coming or should I stay for a while longer?" he asked.

"Oh, you can … go. You don't have to stay here any longer. Nathan and I will be fine," I said. I looked down at the floor. "Ethan … he's busy. As usual."

I looked back up at Ian and found his face close to mine. And then, without thinking about what I was doing or what was happening, I found myself kissing Ian Dalton, my ex-boyfriend who was NOT my fiancée.

And surprisingly, I found myself enjoying it immensely – something that was not supposed to happen. It wasn't like my kisses with Ethan, which, compared to this, was just … kissing. No, this … this was what I remembered back from when we were in high school. It was full of feeling, full of …

No, no, I couldn't think of that. I couldn't.

I pulled away from him.

I was speechless, and I wasn't able to find my voice. Finally, I was able to say, "I'm sorry."

And then I walked away from him.

I managed to pull myself together by the time I got back to Nathan and Grandma Esme. They were waiting for me to join them again so we could go to see Mom and Dad.

They were in the same room in two separate beds. Both of them didn't look too, too bad, despite the fact that there were a couple of bruises here and there. Dad's foot was wrapped up and propped up on a pillow, and there was a large bump on his head. Mom's arm was wrapped up, and she as well had a large bump on her forehead.

Both of their faces lit up in smiles when we entered. Nathan and I went over and gave both of them hugs, and Esme followed along behind us, giving each of them a very tight hug.

"You had us so worried," I said, perching on the end of Mom's bed while Nathan perched at the end of Dad's. "What happened?"

"The rain got way to heavy to see through and the roads were getting very slick," Dad said.

"Well, we're glad that you managed to survive it," Esme said. "But don't you ever think about putting us through that again, young man."

We all laughed.

And then Dad said, "I hope the Volvo is alright …"

~~0~~

_**Nathan Cullen**_

Grandpa Carlisle and Grandma Esme insisted that we stay at their house for the night, since they didn't want us to be alone in the apartment.

Mom and Dad were going to be alright. When my sister had said that they were in the hospital, my heart had almost stopped. I was filled with relief when we heard that they were going to be alright, and I had promised myself that I would always do my homework when they told me to, instead of reading comics.

It was that type of thing where you never really know how much you love your parents until you almost lose them, and then you realize that you'd never really known how grateful you were to them.

Boy was I glad that they were okay.

I laid on my back on the bed in one of the guestrooms at my grandparents house. As I stared up at the ceiling, I remembered that moment that I had witnessed back at the hospital. I had gone to see where Elizabeth was, and I saw her looking at Ian with a look of … sadness, was it? … on her face. I had quickly walked away after that.

I decided to get up and go ask her about it.

And so, I got out of bed, went down the hall and stopped in front of Elizabeth's door. I knocked on it quietly, then opened the door.

My sister was laying in bed, staring up at the ceiling. She turned her head when I poked my head through the door. "Hey," she said. "What's up?"

"I had a question. What was going on between you and Ian over at the hospital?" I asked.

Elizabeth sat up. "Why?"

"You looked sad," I stated.

"I was worried about Mom and Dad," she replied.

"Oh, no, you weren't. I mean, I'm sure you were, but, it was a different sadness. Did he kiss you, or something?" I asked, taking a wild stab at what I was sure was none of my business.

"Nathan, it's none of your business," she said.

My eyes widened. "You kissed him?" I asked.

"Nathan!" Elizabeth said. Her tone sounded serious. "It's none of your business. You are way too young to understood the complications that love lives can bring someone. You need to go to bed. I'm talking about this with you, alright? End of discussion."

I couldn't help myself. "Are you really sure you're not still in love with Ian?"

"Nathan, I said end of discussion. I'm telling you to go to bed."

Elizabeth's tone was quieter, and I could tell that I had reached her nerve point. I quietly got up from where I had been sitting at the end of the bed and headed towards the door.

Before I went out the door, though, I turned around and said, "Goodnight, sis. I love you."

She smiled softly. "I love you, too, squirt."

I smiled and turned to go out the door. But then I turned back again as a thought popped into my head. "No matter who you choose, I want you to be happy."

My sister gave me a confused look, and then said in a stern voice but with a sad smile on her face, "Goodnight, Nate."

I walked back to my room, thinking all the way there, _I'm going to be rooting for the ex._

**Author's Note:** _So? What did you think? I hope it wasn't too too bad. Was anyone expecting the kiss? I thought I'd throw that in there for extra spice..._

_i'm not sure how many chapters there are going to be left, but I do know that it's not that many, maybe three or four, and then an epilogue. I really want to finish this story before I start school on the seventh, so I am going to be writing a whole lot for the next two days. Who knows, I might even surprise you with a new chapter tomorrow. _

_Next chapter: We'll discover what Ethan's been up to (but through the eyes of someone who you'd least expect), and will Nathan finally be able to get the girl of his dreams? Or, at least attempt to ask her out? _

_Until Next Time, eat Milano cookies! Lemonade Ninja._


	11. An Invitation

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Twilight.

**Chapter Ten: An Invitation**

_**Elizabeth Cullen**_

"Baby, you okay? You've been quiet tonight."

It was the day after my parent's accident. I was still sort of mad at Ethan, but not as much I had been. He had showed up at the kitchen door earlier that night, holding a large bouquet of flowers, hoping to soften my anger. It had worked some, and, with his apology, we kissed and made up. Then he offered to take me out to dinner to make up for it. I had accepted, only at the encouragement of my mother, who was confined to the couch with Dad for the next two days.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I said, throwing him a convincing smile that I wasn't really putting my all into.

"You sure?" he asked, wiping his mouth with his napkin.

I nodded and threw him another smile. "Yes. I just have a little head ache that's all."

The truth was, I wasn't all that great.

Nathan had said something last night that had stirred in my mind the thought that I had thought a while ago – was I still in love with Ian?

I had mulled over that thought so much last night and all throughout the day, that it had actually given me a headache and I had slept only two hours.

Did Nathan know something that I didn't know? Was he seeing something that I wasn't seeing? Most importantly, did he see me kissing Ian?

I wasn't really sure who kissed who. Had it been me that had kissed him? Or had it been Ian that had kissed me? I didn't know. It could have been both of us.

All of these thoughts kept running through my head repeatedly.

"I have something to tell you," Ian said, pulling me out of my thoughts.

I looked up at him, taking a bite of my mushroom ravioli. We were at the Italian restaurant in Port Angeles, where we had had dinner with my parents that night that felt like such a long time ago. Like my mother, I hated it when I was taken out to dinner at an expensive place, like this restaurant, but Ethan had insisted on going there and I couldn't refuse.

"What?" I asked.

Ethan looked a little nervous and sounded hesitant as he said, "I can't meet you, your Mom, and Alice tomorrow night to go over the guest list and write out the envelopes. Would you be able to do it without me? The guest list has been finalized …"

"What's going on?" I asked, trying very hard to keep the suspicion out of my voice.

"Something came up at work, and I have to try to fix it," he said.

Why was I getting the feeling that he wasn't telling me the whole truth?

I was sorely tempted to tell him no, he had to help, but then I decided that my Mom, Alice, and I could do it without help from Ethan. I sighed and said, "Sure. We can manage."

~~0~~

_**Ian Dalton**_

Two weeks had passed since "The Kiss". I hadn't seen Elizabeth, and I didn't dare go to the bookshop. I wasn't sure what her thoughts about the kiss were, but I sure knew that I had enjoyed it immensely. It had reminded me of our days in high school, and that made me miss her all the more.

I loved working with at the Middle School. The kids loved the way I taught them music. Literally, there had been a couple of kids in my class that were so "musically challenged" that they couldn't play a single note on any instrument, and I had managed to help them learn how to play a musical instrument.

"_You have such a great talent, Ian Dalton. I don't know how you do it! You could make a career out of it!_"

Whenever those words popped into my brain, I smiled. Elizabeth had said those words to me near the end of our senior year of high school. Her face popped into my minds-eye when I thought of those words, and it made a surge of happiness go through my veins.

But I knew in my heart that she didn't love me – she was getting married to another man for pete's sake, of course she didn't love me anymore.

And I knew that it had been wrong to kiss her.

I sat mulling this over in my mind as I sat in a café in Port Angeles on a Thursday afternoon two weeks after the "incident", sipping at a mug of coffee, and reading a book about vampires.

I had been sitting there for about maybe twenty minutes when the café door opened and a young man in his twenties entered, followed by a young blonde woman who also looked to be in her twenties. I looked briefly up at them for a second, just as a habit, intending to go back to reading and not give them a second thought.

But then I realized that I had seen that man before – met him, actually. The man was Ethan Barr, Elizabeth's fiancée. I had run into them once at the grocery store in Forks three weeks ago, when I was picking up a gallon of milk for my mother. Elizabeth had introduced us, and Ethan had seemed like a nice guy.

I watched with curiosity – it was Ethan, and he was with another woman. And I knew for a fact that that woman was _not_ Elizabeth.

Ethan and the woman went up to the counter, and then walked over to a table a couple moments later with two mugs of coffee and two forks and a plate with a piece of carrot cake on it. I assumed that the woman was his sister, or a cousin maybe.

But as I watched, I began to realize that they were way too happy with each other, the woman was very giggly, and the both of them were looking at each other with those lovey-dovey eyes.

And then, to my utter surprise, they leaned forward and kissed each other. When they pulled apart a couple seconds later, Ethan pulled her hand into his and began to run his thumb across it.

I closed my book, threw a couple dollar bills down on the table and left the café.

I needed to find Elizabeth.

~~0~~

_**Nathan Cullen**_

Today was the day. Today was the day that I was going to gather my guts and ask her out.

_Okay, Nathan_, I thought,_ you can do this. Go up to her, and ask her out. It's simple. All you have to do is say, "Will you go out with me?"_

I stood near one of the water fountains at school and stared across the hall at Mackenzie, who was at her locker, pulling books out of her locker to take home, since it was after the last class of the day. I drew in a deep breath and walked across the hall to my locker, which was conveniently next to hers.

She smiled at me when I got there, and I smiled back at her, then we both looked away.

"So, uh, what did you think of that Algebra test?" she asked.

"Brutal," I said, right away.

"I know. I thought I was going to die. I really hate it when Mr. Boone gives us these pop tests. Aren't they supposed to be pop quizzes anyway?" Mackenzie said.

I nodded. "Yeah."

We both laughed.

"So, uh, are you … um, going to the dance on Saturday?" I asked, referring to the dance that was happening two days from now.

Mackenzie tilted her head, her brown hair slanting to the side. She smiled a soft smile and said, "Um, I'm not planning on it. Nobody's really asked me."

"Would you … wouldyouwanttogowithme?" I asked in a rush, then mentally let out a huge breath of relief. _I've finally asked her out!_

Mackenzie looked confused for a second, and then she said, "Pardon?"

"Um, I said, would you want to … go … with me?" I asked, hopefully.

A look of realization came across her face and, with a blush spreading across her cheeks and her lips turning upwards into a smile, she said, "Yes. Sure."

I huge smile spread across my face. "Great."

I exited the school five minutes later, feeling so happy that I leaped up and punched the air as I skipped all the steps and landed on the pavement on two feet.

Mackenzie Serra HAD SAID YES!

_**Elizabeth Cullen**_

"So, have you and Ethan decided on where you two are going to go on your honeymoon yet?" Aunt Alice asked.

It was Thursday afternoon, and Mom, Aunt Alice, Leah, Aunt Rosalie and I were in the kitchen above the bookshop, drinking hot cocoa and discussing wedding plans. Ethan had been going to meet us there, but he had called at the last minute saying that he couldn't make it. I had tried not to make such a big deal out of it, and Mom and Aunt Alice told me that "Most men don't want to have anything to do with wedding plans."

I smiled and said, "He wants to take me to Maui."

"Ooh, _aloha_! _So_ romantic! Tell me all about it when you get back, alright? I've never been there and I've always wanted to go there!" Leah said. "Actually, I think, when I get engaged, I'm going to _get_ married _in_ Hawaii."

We all laughed.

Nathan burst through the kitchen door then, looking happy and joyous, with a humongous smile spread across his face. "Hello, everyone!" He kissed all of our cheeks – much to our surprise, and then headed for the cupboard and took out the package of Oreos.

"Hello," Mom said. "Any reason why you're so happy?"

"I … have … a … date!" he said. "A date! Can you believe it!"

"Congratulations!" Leah and I said in unison, smiling.

"Who's the lucky girl?" I asked.

"Mackenzie Serra, the girl I've had a crush on since middle school! We are going to the dance at school on Saturday," he said. "Well, I'm off to do homework."

And with that, he left the kitchen and went off down the hall to his bedroom, backpack on his back and Oreos in hand.

"He has finally got a date …. My other baby's growing up!" Mom said.

~~0~~

Later, about seven-thirty that evening, I lay on my bed. I held in my hands an envelope – a small white one with _his_ name on it. I was trying to decide whether or not to actually give it to him, to invite him.

And then, before I knew what I was doing, I was stuffing the invitation into the back pocket of my jeans, grabbing my sweater off my desk chair and my keys off my desk. I knew that I could have just sent it to him through the mail, but I decided that he needed an in-person-apology for "The Kiss".

My parents were at the kitchen table, looking through a bunch of papers and such, and they looked up when I entered.

"Hey, um, I have an errand to run. I'll be back in a little bit," I said, and, after saying a quick 'good-bye' to both of them and kissing the tops of their heads, I left.

The drive to Ian's house went by very quickly, especially since I still knew the way. All too soon, I was pulling my truck up in front of his house. But I found myself unable to get out and walk up to his house. Instead, I sat there in the cab of the truck, engine on, heat spewing out of the vents.

All of sudden, there was a knock on my window, and I jumped.

Ian was standing outside.

I took a deep breath to calm my heart and then pulled the keys out of the ignition. I opened the door and stepped out. 

"Hi."

"Hi. What are you doing outside my house? Stalking me?" Ian asked, humor in his eyes.

I shook my head. "I, uh, I just came over here to apologize. I don't know what came over me that night at the hospital and … well I just wanted to say that I'm sorry."

Ian shrugged. "It's alright. I shouldn't have kissed you anyways."

I looked at him in shock. "It was you that kissed me?" He nodded. "I thought it was me that kissed you!"

He laughed. "It was me. But you did kiss me back. I should have been the one to say that I was sorry, not you."

A blush – to my surprise – crept up onto my face, and I looked down at the rain laden ground. Then I looked back up and pulled the envelope out of my pocket. "I also came over here to give you this." I handed him the invitation and he took it. "It's an invitation to the wedding. You don't have to come if you don't want to, but … I want you to. All of the information's in there."

He smiled, but the smile lasted for only a second. "So, uh, you're really gonna marry this guy?"

I looked at him, a bit confused. I nodded. "Yes," I said slowly. "Would there be a reason why I wouldn't be marrying him?"

He scratched the back of his head. "Listen, Liz, I've been looking for you all afternoon to tell you something."

"What would that be?" I asked.

"I don't think you should marry that man."

My mouth dropped open. "And why shouldn't I?"

"I saw him this afternoon, at a café in Port Angeles, with … with another woman. They looked very love-y dove-y together. Elizabeth, I don't know any other way to tell you this but … I think that that guy is cheating on you."

Despite my own suspicions of Ethan, I glared at Ian. "What gives you the right to accuse my _fiancée_ that he's cheating on me? He loves me. You shouldn't accuse people you don't know of something that you're not entirely sure of what they're doing, Ian. I can't believe you would accuse that of him. He wouldn't do anything of the sort like that."

"Elizabeth, I saw him. I saw him kiss that other woman!" Ian argued. He placed his hands on my shoulders but I shrugged out of them.

"Don't touch me. I have to go," I said.

I had inherited one of my mother's embarrassing traits – anger was directly hardwired to my tear ducts. Right then, tears were sparking in my eyes and I knew I had to leave.

So, I opened my door, got in, and within five seconds, I was driving off, my heart breaking into tiny pieces all the way home.

_**Ian Dalton**_

As I watched Elizabeth drive off, I felt my heart drop.

I scrunched up my hand, and when I heard the crunch of paper, I remembered the invitation in my hand.

I opened the envelope and took out a single piece of white cardstock, with gold rimming the edges. Printed in elegant black calligraphy, the words read:

_You are invited to the wedding of _

_Elizabeth Marie Cullen_

_Ethan Cory Barr_

_On _

_January 1 at 1:00 p.m. _

I sighed and placed the card back in the envelope, not even bothering the read the rest of it. I walked slowly back into the house.

I had just lost my best friend and love of my life.

**Author's Note:** _Am I good or what? Two chapters in two days! I hope everyone liked this chapter. I'm not sure how much I like this chapter, but I do like that Nathan has finally (almost!) gotten the girl of his dreams. _

_The story will be coming to an end very shortly (probably one or two more chapters and then an epilogue). I want to thank everybody who reviewed the previous chapter! Please keep on reviewing! They keep me inspired and they make me write faster. _

_Next Chapter: Because I'm sort of anxious to finish the story within the next couple of chapters, there will be sort of a large time lapse in the story. The next chapter will be set right before the wedding, and you'll get to see how the story will evolve from there (I can't really tell you what happens!). _

_So, please review on your way out! I will try to write another chapter tomorrow and if I finish it, I'll post it. Until Next TIme: Lemonade Ninja. _


	12. Promises

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Twilight.

**Author's Note:** _I want to thank all of you who reviewed! I was very excited when I opened my email and saw reveiw alerts. Keep on reading and reveiwing!_

**Chapter Eleven: Promises**

_**Elizabeth Cullen**_

I wasn't sure how long I drove for, but somehow I ended up in front of William's Park, the town's only park. I cut the engine and got out, heading down the path towards the center of the park. The night air was cold, and I pulled my coat closer to my body.

I spotted a bench and went over to it, so I could sit down and gather my thoughts.

For a good hour and a half, I sat on that bench, thinking about my conversation with Ian.

He had said that my fiancée – a man that loved me, supposedly – was cheating on me. With another woman.

What had given him the right? He knew _nothing_ – absolutely nothing – about Ethan. He had only met him once, and that was only briefly. Maybe he was just jealous. Jealous men did that sometimes, like in the movies.

Or maybe he still cared about me.

I thought about that for a second.

Nah.

But it came down to one thing. How would I know if Ian was telling me the truth? There was only one thing that I could think of to find out the truth.

I needed to ask Ethan.

I didn't know if that was the correct thing to do, but I needed to know. I needed to know if I should still marry him.

I pulled out my phone as I got up and walked back towards my truck. I dialed my home phone number, and when Mom answered, I told her that I was going down to Port Angeles to see Ethan and that I probably wouldn't be back until later.

An hour later, I drove up to Ethan's house. I sat there for a moment, and then killed the engine, got out and walked up to the door.

Tilda answered after a moment. "Elizabeth!" she said. "What in the world are you doing here?"

"Hi, I'm sorry I'm calling so late. I just need to talk to Ethan for a moment. Is he here?" I asked.

Tilde nodded. "He is."

"Great. Could you ask him to come down and meet me outside?" I asked.

Four minutes later, Ethan came out the front door and down the porch steps. I was leaning against my truck and stood up straight as he came nearer.

"Hey," I said.

"Hey. My mom said you needed to talk to me. Is everything alright?" he asked.

"Um, I just needed to ask you a question," I said. "My mom has always told me that no marriage should start with lies. I need to know something. Are you cheating on me?"

Ethan looked shocked for one split second, and then his features softened and he let out a chuckle. "What gave you an absolute crazy idea like that?"

"Nothing. I just … I just need to know the truth," I said. My tone was deadly serious. "How do I know that you're not lying to me?"

"Because I'm not," he said. He came forward and placed his hands on my shoulders. "Lizzy, baby, I love you. I would never ever do that to you."

I looked deep into his eyes, and his eyes seemed truthful enough. "Alright. I'm sorry I asked you that."

"That's alright."

"Are we good?" I asked.

He nodded and planted a kiss on my lips.

~~0~~

Days passed. The days turned into weeks, and the weeks turned into months. Before I knew it, it was nearing the end of December.

I was getting married in five days.

We had passed the previous weeks by finalizing all the wedding plans. We reserved the church, where the ceremony and reception would be taking place, and had one final dress fitting one week before the wedding. Even the cake had been decided on.

As the date of the wedding got closer, the wedding presents kept piling up. Each day a new package arrived. The presents ranged from a coffee maker to a toaster to even a spatula. The nicest gift was a china tea set that had such intricate detail and was made of porcelain that I was afraid to even take it out of the box.

Nathan's date to the dance with Mackenzie had gone very well. I had been sitting at the kitchen table drinking hot cocoa and reading when he came home at eleven o'clock, and I had managed to get him to tell me about his night. He had said that it had gone magnificent and that he might even have a chance with Mackenzie. The following Monday, he had asked her out again (this time to go to the café for hot cocoa and pie that night), and she had accepted.

When he came home that night, he had come into my room and told me that he now had a girlfriend. I had told him congratulations, and welcome to the life of love. He asked if he could bring Mackenzie to the wedding, and I said 'sure!'.

I hadn't spoken to Ian since the night that I had walked out of his life forever. I wasn't mad at him anymore, and I couldn't figure out why.

I would see him in the grocery store, but the instant I saw him, I would turn and walk the other way.

The relationship between Ethan and I had grown just a little bit strained since the night I asked him if he was cheating on me. He wasn't his normal self, and our dates were beginning to grow awkward.

I spent hours at night awake, staring at my ceiling, wondering why in the world I was even awake pondering why I was marrying Ethan yet I couldn't even get Ian out of my mind.

Two days before the wedding, I spent the night at Leah's place. Leah had come up with the idea of our very own 'bachelorette party' that didn't involve spending a lot of money and going out for 'a night on the town' – a bunch of chick flicks and popcorn and Oreos.

Leah had told me to be over at her house by seven, and to bring the Oreos, pizza, and the two liters of soda. She would be supplying the movies and the popcorn. Her parents were going to be out of town that night, so we would have the place to ourselves.

I left my place a little after six, so I could get the Oreos and soda, and then stop by the pizzeria to pick up the pizza.

I was in the store, heading towards the check-out with the Oreos and soda in hand when I ran into Ethan.

"Oh, hi! What are you doing here?" I asked. "We're not supposed to be seeing each other until the wedding."

My Aunt Alice had insisted that we follow the age old tradition of not seeing each for three days before the wedding, only seeing each other as I walked down the aisle.

Ethan blushed and chuckled nervously.

I then noticed that a woman who looked to be about my age was standing next to him. She had great looking hair, and from what I could tell a great sense of fashion. She was wearing a nice skirt and a nice blouse, along with heels and fancy jewelry.

"Yeah, I know," Ethan said. "Elizabeth, this is my cousin, Bernadette. She's going to be in town for the wedding. I've not seen her since I was little. Bernadette, this is Elizabeth."

Something in his voice stirred a feeling at the back of my neck that I couldn't quite decipher. Nevertheless, I pushed the feeling aside and held out my hand, staring straight at her. "It's nice to meet you. Well, I've got to be going."

I quickly walked away as soon as the last word was out of my mouth. After a good distance, I looked back at my fiancée and the woman with him.

Ethan's arm was wrapped around Bernadette's waist.

I quickly paid for the Oreos and soda and hurried out of the grocery store as fast as I could.

Later that night, after the pizza was gone and the soda bottle was half empty, Leah and I laid on a bunch of pillows and blankets on her living room floor. We had already watched a few of the movies, and it was about one in the morning. We were just laying there, talking about the things we used to do as kids.

"I can't believe you're getting married tomorrow," Leah said, referring to the fact that it was one in the morning.

"I know," I said, laughing. "I can't believe it either.

"Are you excited?" she asked. "Or nervous?"

"Eh, a little bit of both," I said. Reaching forward and grabbing an Oreo. "But more nervous, I think."

I couldn't get the image of Ethan's arm wrapped around Bernadette's waist out of my head. I couldn't shake the feeling the Ian might have been right.

But Ethan had said that Bernadette was his cousin. So, maybe Ian had been wrong …?

"Who names their kid Bernadette?" I wondered aloud.

"Hmm?" Leah asked.

"I said who names their kid Bernadette?" I repeated.

Leah laughed. "French people? I don't know. Why?"

"I ran into Ian tonight at the grocery store, and there was this woman with him. He said that she was his cousin and that she was in town for the wedding."

"Huh. Bernadette… You're right. Who _names_ their kid that?"

~~0~~

This was it.

My final day as a Cullen.

The day before the wedding was spent in a hurried frenzy – putting up decorations at the church and making sure everything was in place for the ceremony.

The rehearsal at the church went smoothly. Afterwards, all of us – my parents, Nathan, Leah, Ethan, his parents, and my dad's whole side of the family – went to the Italian restaurant for supper. It was a great night. Everybody laughed and talked with each other and had a wonderful time.

Later that night, I lay on my bed. My dress was hanging on the back of my closet door. A few wedding presents were piled up in a corner. Several cardboard boxes littered my room – a lot of them taped but some still not full.

Ethan and I would be moving into our new apartment in Port Angeles when we got back from the honeymoon, and he wanted me to have all of my stuff packed up and ready to be moved. It was kind of eerie to look around the room that had been mine since I was a baby and see almost all of the stuff gone and packed into boxes.

There was a knock on my door, and Nathan poked his head through the door.

"Hey!" I said. "Come on in."

Nathan entered the room and I patted the spot next to me on the bed. He came and sat down next to me.

"So, I just wanted to say good luck tomorrow," he said.

"Thanks. I'm gonna need it," I said.

My little brother sat there in silence for a moment and said, "You know, I'm gonna miss you around here. You've been here all of my life and now you're getting married and going off on a new life."

I put my arm around him. "I'm going to miss you, too, buddy. And I'm not going to be leaving you permanently. Yes, I'm getting married, but it's a part of life. People grow up, fall in love, get married, and start a new life. You're going to … eventually."

"I am?"

I nodded. "Everybody does. And besides, I'm only moving an hour away to Port Angeles. You'll get to visit me a lot of the time, and I'll come back to visit."

"Promise?"

Nathan looked up at me with the eyes that he used to give me when he was younger.

He really was going to miss me.

I wrapped my arms around him and hugged him tight. "I promise."

"Good. I'm going to hold you to that promise," he said, wrapping his arms around me.

I laughed and pulled back, ruffling the top of his head. "I love you, Nathan."

Nate grinned and said, "I love you, too, sis."

**Author's Note:** _Sorry it wasn't too too long. But who like the little Nathan/Elizabeth sibling fluff at the end? I was originally going to have Bella be the one who comes in to talk to Elizabeth the night before the wedding, but then I thought Nathan would be sweeter. And, before anybody asks, Bernadette, the woman who Ethan was with at the grocery store, IS the woman who Ethan is cheating on Elizabeth with (I couldn't resist naming her Bernadette). We now know that Ethan is a lying snitch, but Elizabeth hasn't figured it out yet. _

_I am sad to say that there is going to be only one chapter left, and then an epilogue (the next chapter is going to be really long, though, so it'll hopefully make up for the shortness of this chapter). Everything will be concluded in that chapter (we'll find out what happens), so that's why it's probably going to be longer than the normal five pages. _

_Anyway, Until then, review and eat Ferrero Rocher chocolate balls (They are super good!). Until Next Time: Lemonade NInja._


	13. PLEASE READ!

**Dear Fellow Readers:**

**I'm sorry if you thought that this was another chapter. It's not. **

**If anyone was wondering where I've been these past couple of months: I got a job (which made me **_**very very very very**_** happy), and so I've been working three days a week. I've had school, and while it hasn't been stressful like it is with public schoolers (I'm homeschooled), I've not been feeling well lately, with my stomach and everything. Also, a new thing has appeared, which is light headedness and dizziness which has been making me **_**really**_** not feel well the last week or so.**

**And so, I haven't been doing as much school as I should be doing, with it being my last year of high school. I would like to be doing a lot of school, since I'm so used to doing a lot of school and being able to do it. **

**But, Alas, I haven't felt good, and it's gotten worse in the past few months. **

**So, I really don't know when the next chapter of this story will be coming out. **

**And for that, I'm totally sorry.**

**But, you could expect a couple one shots to appear here and there… Like, for example, a companion one shot to **_**There's a Bird in the House!**_**.**

**But anyway, I really hope you'll forgive me. You can feel free to throw pitchforks and knives at me (but only if you wish).**

**So, once again, I'm very sorry about getting your hopes up of this being a new chapter (which it's not).**

**Until Next Chapter (hopefully),**

**Lemonade Ninja **


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